Norway’s master graduates still have strong employment prospects, but the transition from university to the labour market has become more difficult. More than 90% of students who completed a master’s degree in spring 2025 were employed six months later, according to the latest national graduate survey, while unemployment among recent graduates rose from 6.6% in 2023 to 9.5% in 2025.
The 2025 Graduate Survey (Kandidatundersøkelsen), conducted by the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU) on behalf of the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (Direktoratet for høyere utdanning og kompetanse, HK-dir), followed people who completed a master’s degree at a Norwegian institution in spring 2025.
The findings show an apparently contradictory picture. Most graduates find work relatively quickly, but around half said finding a job matching their education had been more difficult than expected. The survey covered about 4,300 graduates, with a response rate of 27%.
Norway’s master graduates face very different labour markets
Employment outcomes vary considerably depending on what graduates studied. Around 97% of graduates in teacher education, health and social care, and law were employed six months after completing their degrees.
At the other end of the scale, unemployment reached 21% among natural science graduates, compared with 15% in social sciences and 15% in humanities and arts, according to figures published by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research (Kunnskapsdepartementet).
There are also differences within broad subject areas. NIFU found that graduates from technical engineering programmes generally entered employment more quickly than those from discipline-based fields such as physics and chemistry.
More professionally oriented degrees therefore appear to provide a smoother route into the labour market than programmes with a less direct connection to specific occupations.
The situation also varies geographically. Among respondents, unemployment was highest in Oslo, at 14%, while none of those surveyed in Finnmark were registered as unemployed. The latter figure should be read in the context of the survey sample rather than as an unemployment rate for all recent graduates in the county.
Relevant work experience is becoming more important
One of the clearest problems reported by graduates is the difficulty of obtaining a first relevant position without already having work experience.
The survey found that contact with employers during university, particularly through relevant part-time jobs, was associated with an easier transition into employment. Students in professional programmes such as teaching, health and engineering also tend to have more direct contact with workplaces during their studies than those following traditional academic disciplines.
The difficulties are also influencing decisions about further study. Among graduates who continued their education, 29% said difficulty finding relevant work was one reason for doing so, up from 11% in 2023.
Minister of Research and Higher Education (forsknings- og høyere utdanningsminister) Sigrun Aasland, of the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet), said universities and colleges should expand opportunities for practical experience and contact with employers during degree programmes.
The government is also considering the differences between disciplines as it develops its strategy for science and mathematics subjects. According to Aasland, information on graduates’ employment prospects can help identify where education and labour-market demand are not sufficiently aligned.
A strong overall result conceals a harder first step
The figures come at a time when Norwegian higher education is producing record numbers of graduates. According to the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, around 57,000 students completed degree programmes in 2025, including more than 22,000 master-level graduates.
Despite the more difficult entry into the labour market, graduates remain broadly positive about their studies. 85% of respondents said they were satisfied with both their education and the institution they attended.
The survey therefore does not suggest that a master’s degree has lost its value in Norway. More than nine in ten graduates were working six months after completing their studies. But the rising unemployment rate, large differences between disciplines and growing importance of previous work experience indicate that getting from university into the first relevant qualified job is becoming a more difficult part of the graduate experience.
