The employment rate for university graduates in 2017 was at an all-time low. Even graduates of technical colleges and graduate schools landed fewer jobs for the first time in three years.

The Education Ministry on Thursday released employment statistics as of the end of last year for 574,009 graduates of higher education institutions who finished their studies between August 2017 and February 2007.

The employment rate was 66.2 percent, down 1.5 percentage points from the previous year and the lowest in the six years since the statistics were first compiled. It was especially bad for university graduates, falling 1.7 percentage points to 62.6 percent.

The rate for graduates of technical colleges had been consistently rising from 67.8 percent in 2014 to 70.6 percent in 2016 but fell to 69.8 percent last year. Employment of graduate school graduates also fell for the first time in three years.