Report Reveals College Majors with the Lowest Unemployment Rates
A new report has clarified the college majors that offer the lowest unemployment rates, highlighting the opportunities available in various fields. At the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa, students are filling classrooms in business, biology, and computer science. However, a new study shows that these popular choices may not always be the safest options when it comes to job stability.
The report found that some of the majors with the lowest unemployment rates include fields that might be unexpected, such as nutrition, art history, and philosophy. These majors had unemployment rates of 3.5% or less, while computer science and chemistry saw unemployment rates above 6%.
Although computer science is a popular major at UH Mānoa, it ranks among the fields with the highest unemployment rates for recent graduates. In 2023, computer science majors faced a 6.1% unemployment rate. Computer engineering had an even higher rate at 7.5%. Biology and pre-nursing, also popular at UH, did not appear among the majors with the lowest unemployment rates.
On the other hand, nutrition sciences had a national unemployment rate under 1%, and philosophy, surprisingly, outperformed many STEM fields with a 3.2% unemployment rate. Art history majors posted a 3% unemployment rate.
While philosophy graduates earn less initially than those in more technical fields, their unemployment rate remains lower than that of physics and chemistry majors. This suggests that higher salary potential does not always correlate with greater job security.
Graduate degrees also make a significant difference in job prospects. Nearly 58% of philosophy majors go on to earn advanced degrees, the highest rate among all fields.
At UH Mānoa, psychology and biology are in the top 10 most popular majors. Both fields often serve as stepping stones to graduate school, particularly for students pursuing careers in healthcare, counseling, or scientific research.
The university ranks among the top 20 institutions in the U.S. for linguistics, anthropology, and hospitality, demonstrating its commitment to a broad range of academic fields, even those that attract fewer students. This highlights the fact that strong programs are not always the most crowded, and students may find valuable opportunities in less popular areas.
“These popular majors highlight areas of strong student interest, but UH Mānoa’s commitment to excellence extends to every program we offer,” said Nikki Chun, vice provost for Enrollment Management at UH Mānoa. “We are a globally recognized university, dedicated to providing a high-caliber education across all fields, and the people of Hawaiʻi can be truly proud of the exceptional academic resources they have in their own backyard.”
The report shows that majors with the lowest unemployment rates include:
- Nutrition sciences at 1% or lower
- Construction services at 1% or lower
- Animal/plant sciences at 1% or lower
- Art history at 3%
- Philosophy at 3.2%
These findings emphasize that success after graduation depends more on understanding where real opportunities lie, rather than simply following popular trends.
National data indicates that job security does not always align with the most popular majors. UH Mānoa students have access to nationally ranked programs across a variety of disciplines, offering the chance to choose both passion and practicality.