Top 15 College Majors with the Highest Unemployment Rates 2025

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Balancing personal passion with a realistic understanding of employment trends has never been more important. A recent analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reinforces this point, highlighting labor market outcomes in 2025.

At the favorable end of the spectrum, graduates in nutritional sciences enjoy an unemployment rate as low as 0.4%. Close behind are agriculture and nursing, with unemployment rates of 1.2% and 1.4%, respectively. 

However, a stark contrast emerges when looking at majors with unemployment rates exceeding 5%. Anthropology tops the list as the most unemployed major, followed by physics, with respective unemployment rates of 9.4% and 7.8%. These figures are more than double the rate for art history graduates, who face a comparatively lower rate of just 3%.

These figures also reveal a growing contradiction with recent industry observations. CNBC, for example, cited BlackRock’s Chief Operating Officer Robert Goldstein in a 2024 conference, where he noted that humanities graduates, including those in history and English, are becoming increasingly sought-after in the age of AI. His statement largely outlined the creative thinking and soft skills brought to the table by graduates of these disciplines.

Exceptions remain for the healthcare sector, which continues to show stable and high demand in 2025’s labor market.

Even computer engineering majors, a field that has long been considered a top-paying field with a median wage of around $80,000, have surprisingly made the list of the top three most unemployed majors. 

List of the Most Unemployed Majors in 2025

1. Anthropology - 9.4% unemployment rate
2. Physics - 7.8% unemployment rate
3. Computer Engineering - 7.5% unemployment rate
4. Commercial Art & Graphic Design - 7.2% unemployment rate
5. Fine Arts - 7% unemployment rate
6. Sociology - 6.7% unemployment rate
7. Computer Science - 6.1% unemployment rate
8. Chemistry - 6.1% unemployment rate
9. Information Systems & Management - 5.6% unemployment rate
10. Public Policy and Law - 5.5% unemployment rate
11. Liberal Arts - 5.3% unemployment rate
12. Miscellaneous Technologies 5% unemployment rate
13. International Affairs - 4.9% unemployment rate
14. English Language - 4.9% unemployment rate
15. Economics - 4.9% unemployment rate

Editor’s Choice: Top 8 Private Universities in Indonesia Based on QS WUR 2026: Binus Ranks First

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News

Luhut Predicts 67,000 New Jobs by Year-End Amid Layoff Wave

15 hari lalu

Survey Finds 60.8% of People Struggle to Find Jobs Under Prabowo-Gibran Administration

22 hari lalu

Indonesia Responds to IMF's 5% Unemployment Forecast

24 hari lalu

Job Fair Chaos in Bekasi: Netizens Demand VP Gibran Fulfill 19 Million Job Promise

28 hari lalu

Over 25,000 Job Seekers Flood Bekasi Job Fair Offering 2,000 Openings

30 hari lalu

USA University List for International Students: NYU, Columbia, and More

30 hari lalu

Labor Party Records 70,000 Indonesian Workers Laid Off in 2025, Disputes Government Data

31 hari lalu

Besides Harvard, Here Are Other Top Universities in the US

32 hari lalu

Recognising and Embracing AI in Research

33 hari lalu

Highest Unemployment Rate in Southeast Asia 2025, Is Indonesia the Highest?

35 hari lalu