(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUN 15 - Finding work after graduation has become easier across Europe, but Italy continues to struggle. This is according to Eurostat's 2025 data. Last year, the EU's employment rate for young people aged 20 to 34 who had recently graduated from high school or university reached 83%, up from 82.3% in 2024 and the highest level in eleven years. Malta leads the rankings, with 91% of recent high school and university graduates finding work, followed by Germany (90.6%) and the Netherlands (90.1%). Italy remains at the other end of the scale, with an employment rate of 71.8%, ranking second to last among the Twenty-seven, ahead of only Greece (62.4%) and Romania (72.7%). The data also indicates that Italy's lag affects both men and women. The employment rate for young men is 73.3%, the second lowest in the EU after Greece. Among women, it drops to 70.2%, trailing only Greece and Romania. At the European level, men continue to have an easier time finding work than women: 84.4% versus 81.5%. The most notable exception is Greece, where young women outperform their male counterparts. Another statistic emphasises the importance of university education in the labour market: in the EU, 87% of recent graduates find work, nearly ten percentage points more than those with a high school diploma (77.2%). (ANSA).