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
- Anthropology - 9.4% unemployment rate
- Physics - 7.8% unemployment rate
- Computer Engineering - 7.5% unemployment rate
- Commercial Art & Graphic Design - 7.2% unemployment rate
- Fine Arts - 7% unemployment rate
- Sociology - 6.7% unemployment rate
- Computer Science - 6.1% unemployment rate
- Chemistry - 6.1% unemployment rate
- Information Systems & Management - 5.6% unemployment rate
- Public Policy and Law - 5.5% unemployment rate
- Liberal Arts - 5.3% unemployment rate
- Miscellaneous Technologies 5% unemployment rate
- International Affairs - 4.9% unemployment rate
- English Language - 4.9% unemployment rate
- Economics - 4.9% unemployment rate
Editor’s Choice: Top 8 Private Universities in Indonesia Based on QS WUR 2026: Binus Ranks First
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