---
title: "43% of Sri Lankans Aged 15 to 24 With Post-Secondary…"
canonical: "https://www.metaintro.com/blog/sri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent"
language: "en"
author: "drashtigarach"
published: "2026-09-23T16:03:39.000Z"
modified: "2026-09-23T16:34:46.537Z"
---

[Back to Blog](/blog)
[News](/blog/tag/news)[Labor Market](/blog/tag/labor-market)[Education](/blog/tag/education)
# 43% of Sri Lankans Aged 15 to 24 With Post-Secondary Education Are Jobless, and the Skills Gap Behind It

About 43% of Sri Lankans aged 15 to 24 with post-secondary education are unemployed, IMF data shows. What the figure measures and where graduates can still go.

[![Drashti Garach](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:40:40/q:72/plain/images/5719d740-e510-42bc-8017-e040d145f35f_1766029465094.png)Drashti Garach @DrashtiGarach](/blog/author/drashtigarach)

[September 23, 2026](/blog/archive/2026/09)14 min read

![An empty university lecture hall with rows of wooden benches, ceiling fans and tall green windows](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:675/q:78/plain/images/final-10333.jpg)

[https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent)[http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent)[https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent&title=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent&title=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It)[mailto:?subject=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent](mailto:?subject=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent)

More than four in ten [young Sri Lankans with postsecondary education](https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Sri-Lanka-tops-IMFs-Asia-comparison-with-43-graduate-youth-unemployment/108-350753) are out of work. An [IMF chart](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/graduating-into-uncertainty-harry-jacques) in the September issue of its Finance and Development magazine puts joblessness among the most educated young people at about 43 percent in Sri Lanka, the top of a South Asian range that starts at about 36 percent in Bangladesh. The group is specific, people [aged 15 to 24 with post-secondary education](http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/20260921/d246932bea6d472483f4944b7477a350/c.html), and it is not the country's overall youth rate. At [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com) we read a headline figure like this against the country's own survey tables and the rules of the jobs actually on offer, because that is where a graduate can see what to do next. Here is what the number measures, why the official national figure looks different, and which doors are still open.

## What Does the 43% Figure Actually Measure?

It measures one slice of Sri Lanka's young people. The IMF chart counts Sri Lankans [aged 15 to 24 with post-secondary education](http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/20260921/d246932bea6d472483f4944b7477a350/c.html) who are unemployed. In Sri Lanka's own survey, only [24.9 percent of 15 to 24 year olds](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) are in the labour force at all, and youth unemployment is measured only among them.

The data behind the chart is [based on 2025, or the latest available data](http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/20260921/d246932bea6d472483f4944b7477a350/c.html), so it is not a single fresh survey from this year. The data was presented at the fund's Asia and Pacific regional outlook briefing on [April 16](https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Sri-Lanka-tops-IMFs-Asia-comparison-with-43-graduate-youth-unemployment/108-350753) and was reproduced in the magazine's September edition.

The comparison covers [12 Asia-Pacific economies](https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Sri-Lanka-tops-IMFs-Asia-comparison-with-43-graduate-youth-unemployment/108-350753), and Sri Lanka sits at the top of it. That is a narrower claim than it can sound. It is the highest rate among the economies in this IMF comparison, not a ranking of every country in Asia.

The pattern the chart shows is the real finding. Across Asia, youth unemployment is [often highest among those with the most advanced education](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/graduating-into-uncertainty-harry-jacques), a pattern in which [joblessness rises rather than falls](https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Sri-Lanka-tops-IMFs-Asia-comparison-with-43-graduate-youth-unemployment/108-350753) with educational attainment.

## How Does Sri Lanka Compare With the Rest of Asia?

South Asia is where the gap is widest. India sits at [about 42 percent](http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/20260921/d246932bea6d472483f4944b7477a350/c.html) for the same age and education group, and Bangladesh at about 36 percent.

Southeast Asia shows the same shape at a lower level. In Thailand, [3.9 percent of people ages 15 to 24](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/graduating-into-uncertainty-harry-jacques) were unemployed last year, but the rate among Thais of that age with post-secondary education was three times higher, at 13.2 percent.

The remaining economies sit far below. The rest of the countries in the comparison came in [below 20%](https://en.sedaily.com/international/2026/09/22/sri-lankas-graduate-youth-jobless-rate-hits-43-percent), with Singapore at about 8% and Japan at about 4%.

For a Sri Lankan graduate, the useful takeaway is that this is not a personal failing or a quirk of one university. Similar pressures have been reported across Asian economies, although [the scale differs considerably](http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/20260921/d246932bea6d472483f4944b7477a350/c.html) between countries. For a comparison outside South Asia, see our look at [China's graduate job squeeze](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/china-record-exports-graduates-jobs-2026).

## Why Do Sri Lanka's Own Figures Look Lower?

Because the national survey measures different groups. The [Department of Census and Statistics](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) put the youth unemployment rate for everyone aged 15 to 24 at 19.5 percent in its 2025 Labour Force Survey annual report, which drew on a sample of 25,000 housing units.

The closest national match to the IMF group is youth with GCE Advanced Level and above. Their unemployment rate was [22.5 percent in 2025](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025), down from 30.0 in 2024 and 39.3 in 2021. The department warns that these youth estimates should be [treated with caution](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) because their coefficient of variation values are high. The national table groups everyone from Advanced Level upward, while the IMF chart counts only young people with post-secondary education, so the two groups are not the same people and the rates should not be swapped for one another.

Both sources agree on the direction of the problem. The department's own report finds that [new youth cohorts entering the labour force after higher education](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) show higher unemployment rates.

The rate falls sharply once you look beyond the youth bracket. Across all ages, the unemployment rate for people educated to Advanced Level and above was [6.0 percent in 2025](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025), against a national rate of 3.9, a table the department also flags to be treated with caution. That gap suggests the burden of joblessness falls [most heavily on the youngest](https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Sri-Lanka-tops-IMFs-Asia-comparison-with-43-graduate-youth-unemployment/108-350753) and most qualified entrants to the labour market.

> Sri Lanka's national youth unemployment rate was [19.5 percent in 2025](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025), so the IMF's graduate figure describes a narrower group facing a much harder entry.

## Who Are the Unemployed Graduates, and What Did They Study?

The department counts [39,680 unemployed graduates](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) aged 20 and above in 2025. About [50.1 percent of them hold arts degrees](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025), and the other 49.9 percent hold other degrees.

Young women face the steeper climb. The 2025 youth unemployment rate was [24.5 percent for young women](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) and 16.5 percent for young men.

Where you live changes the odds as well. Youth unemployment was highest in [Sabaragamuwa province at 27.2 percent](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) in 2025, followed by Southern and Uva provinces at 26.8 percent, while Western province came in at 15.1 percent. The department flags the provincial youth figures as ones to be [treated with caution](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) for the same reason.

Some people have stopped looking altogether. The survey counted [73,557 discouraged job seekers](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) across all ages in 2025. These are people outside the labour force who, for example, do not believe they will get a suitable job, cannot find any work or lack the skills or training a job requires, so they never show up as unemployed.

## Why Is a Degree Not Turning Into a Job?

The IMF's answer is a skills mismatch. Krishna Srinivasan, director of the fund's Asia and Pacific Department, told an April press briefing that [highly educated young workers are struggling to find positions that match their qualifications](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/04/16/tr-04162026-press-briefing-transcript-asia-pacific-department-spring-meetings-2026), which points to a weak connection between education systems and labour market needs.

Supply is part of it. The number of university-educated workers has risen, but that supply [has not lined up with actual hiring demand](https://en.sedaily.com/international/2026/09/22/sri-lankas-graduate-youth-jobless-rate-hits-43-percent).

Sri Lanka also carries the weight of its recent crisis. The country is still rebuilding after [defaulting in May 2022](https://en.sedaily.com/international/2026/09/22/sri-lankas-graduate-youth-jobless-rate-hits-43-percent), and it is pursuing recovery with IMF bailout funding. Earlier this year, many young Sri Lankans [worked four-day weeks and lined up for fuel](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/graduating-into-uncertainty-harry-jacques) under emergency restrictions.

Artificial intelligence adds another layer. The fund warns that if adoption moves faster than skills adjust, it could [worsen these mismatches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/04/16/tr-04162026-press-briefing-transcript-asia-pacific-department-spring-meetings-2026) and make labour market pressure more acute for young workers. A Thai engineering student in the magazine's feature put the worry simply, "It’s hard to find a job," because [complex tasks can be farmed out to artificial intelligence models](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/graduating-into-uncertainty-harry-jacques) that once went to junior engineers.

The problem is not unique to South Asia. The chair of the Philippines Commission on Higher Education put it this way, "Even when job opportunities exist, there is a persistent mismatch between available and graduate skills," in remarks [quoted in the IMF feature](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/graduating-into-uncertainty-harry-jacques).

## What Does the State Teacher Recruitment Offer Graduates?

It is a public sector door whose rules are published in full. The [official gazette notice](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf) from the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education called for graduates who were not employed in the public service as at 10.02.2023, plus a narrow group of serving officers who finished their degrees later, to apply to the Sri Lanka Teachers' Service for 2026.

The job terms are stable. The post is [permanent and pensionable](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf), with a three-year probation. New teachers are placed at [64,440 rupees a month](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf) on a scale that runs from 53,060 to 66,600 rupees, plus government allowances. For context, the mean monthly gross wage for salaried workers across the economy was [65,325 rupees in 2025](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025).

The eligibility rules are strict and worth reading before you plan around this route:

- Your degree must come from a university or institution [recognised by the University Grants Commission](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf), and you apply only for the subject your degree covers, with at least one third of its content in that subject.
- The notice set an [age ceiling of 40 years](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf) as at 10.02.2023, and applicants must be citizens of Sri Lanka.
- Recruitment is school based, and transfers are not allowed until [a period of five years](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf) is complete.

Selection runs in three stages. There is a written test of two one-hour papers, an [aptitude test and a general knowledge paper](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf) of 50 multiple choice questions each, then a general interview, then a practical test where you give a presentation of at least five minutes.

Timing is the catch. Online applications through the [Department of Examinations portal](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf) opened on February 20, 2026 and closed on March 05, 2026, so this intake is shut. It is still a useful guide to what a later intake may ask for.

## How Many Teaching Jobs Are There, and Who Gets Them?

The scale is large by Sri Lankan standards. The government planned to recruit [23,000 new teachers](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/260111/education/govt-to-recruit-23000-new-teachers-total-vacancies-at-40000-627487.html) to state schools this year, drawn from development officers already in government offices as well as new graduates, according to an Education Ministry official quoted in January.

Even that will not fill the gap. The same official put vacancies across all government schools at [40,000](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/260111/education/govt-to-recruit-23000-new-teachers-total-vacancies-at-40000-627487.html), with around 6,000 trainees in teacher training colleges who will also help strengthen the teaching service. Recruits are to be trained before placement, with [training covering 60 subjects](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/260111/education/govt-to-recruit-23000-new-teachers-total-vacancies-at-40000-627487.html).

The competition from inside government is real. Part of the intake is drawn from [development officers already working](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/260111/education/govt-to-recruit-23000-new-teachers-total-vacancies-at-40000-627487.html) in government offices, and the Opposition is now asking about plans to [absorb graduate development officers into the teaching service](https://www.newswire.lk/2026/09/23/sajith-questions-government-over-promised-jobs-for-unemployed-graduates/). The open exam is mainly for graduates [not employed in the public service](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf) as at 10.02.2023, while those who applied under a January 2023 gazette for graduates already in the public service are not eligible to apply under this one.

> Government schools carry [40,000 vacancies](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/260111/education/govt-to-recruit-23000-new-teachers-total-vacancies-at-40000-627487.html), and an Education Ministry official said some will remain unfilled even after this year's 23,000 recruits.

## Which Subjects and Fields Still Have Demand?

The gazette itself is a map of where demand sits. In Eastern Province, applicants who are not permanent residents can apply only for [Science, Mathematics, English, Information Technology, Technology Stream and Counseling](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf).

The notice also says that once existing vacancies are filled, action will be taken to [prioritize the recruitment for subjects identified as essential](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf) under the new education reforms. Its subject list goes well beyond classic arts subjects, with posts in information and communication technology, computer hardware and networking, construction studies, food processing studies and travel and hospitality.

In the wider economy, services employ [49.8 percent](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) of Sri Lanka's workers, more than industry or agriculture, and the public sector employs about 1.2 million people.

Thailand's data centre build out offers a parallel. At conferences on Thailand's data centre build out this year, industry executives warned that the pressing problem was [a shortage of workers with the skills](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/graduating-into-uncertainty-harry-jacques) needed to support the industry's expansion. For graduates across South Asia, the lesson is to pair a degree with a skill that employers can see and test. For one example of a government in the region opening a different route for its workers, see our breakdown of [the Oman labour pact for Bangladeshi workers](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/oman-bangladesh-10000-jobs-pact).

## What Is Parliament Asking the Government to Do?

The pressure is now political. In Parliament, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has used [Standing Order 27(2)](https://www.newswire.lk/2026/09/23/sajith-questions-government-over-promised-jobs-for-unemployed-graduates/) to ask the government how many graduates are unemployed and what its programmes have delivered.

He asked for the number of vacancies open for [direct graduate recruitment](https://www.newswire.lk/2026/09/23/sajith-questions-government-over-promised-jobs-for-unemployed-graduates/) across ministries, departments and provincial councils, and whether those posts would be filled before the end of 2026. He also argued that the answer cannot stop at public sector hiring and called for a programme to create graduate openings in the private sector.

The next test is close. The Budget is [due in the coming weeks](https://www.newswire.lk/2026/09/23/sajith-questions-government-over-promised-jobs-for-unemployed-graduates/), and Premadasa argued that the government should already have the data and plans to address graduate unemployment. In April the fund credited Sri Lanka with rebuilding its fiscal position, with revenue as a share of GDP having [doubled from the bottom of the crisis](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/04/16/tr-04162026-press-briefing-transcript-asia-pacific-department-spring-meetings-2026), which the fund said leaves the country better placed to provide targeted fiscal support to people hurt by the energy shock.

## What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

The honest read is that the [43 percent figure](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2026/09/graduating-into-uncertainty-harry-jacques) is real but narrow. It describes a narrow group of young people with post-secondary education, in an economy still recovering from default. It does not mean a degree is worthless. Across all ages, people educated to Advanced Level and above had an unemployment rate of [6.0 percent in 2025](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025), a fraction of the youth figure. The problem is the wait, and the wait is where you can act.

Start by checking where your degree fits. If you hold an arts degree, note that arts graduates make up [about half of the unemployed graduates](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) the national survey counts, so a second, testable skill matters more for you. Languages, information technology, accounting and counselling all appear in the [teacher recruitment list](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf).

Prepare for the next teacher intake now rather than when it opens. The last window opened on [February 20, 2026 and closed on March 05, 2026](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf), which leaves little time to gather papers. Keep your university transcript with credit counts ready, because the interview board checks how much of your degree covers the subject you apply for, and plan to have your printed application [attested by a Justice of the Peace](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf), which the notice requires at interview.

Look beyond your home district if you can. Youth unemployment in [Western province was far lower](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) than in Sabaragamuwa, Southern or Uva provinces, and in Eastern Province the [state teacher posts in science](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf), mathematics, English, information technology, the technology stream and counselling are open to applicants from outside the province.

Follow the Budget. If a direct graduate recruitment scheme or a private sector programme is announced, the first applicants will be the people who were already watching. If you are weighing whether to build new skills while you wait, the guide on [what new graduates should learn first](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/new-graduates-missing-basics-skills-based-hiring-what-to-learn) is a practical starting point.

## Related Articles

- [Why a Brutal First Job Market Can Dent Graduate Pay for Years, and How to Fight It](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/weak-first-job-market-graduate-wage-scarring-2026)
- [How the Netherlands Beat Youth Unemployment and What Job Seekers Can Learn](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/netherlands-youth-unemployment-lessons-job-seekers-2026)
- [Why UK Youth Unemployment Is a Broken Ladder Not a Lazy Generation](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/uk-youth-unemployment-broken-ladder-not-lazy-generation-2026)
- [India's IT Giants Face an AI Reckoning as High-Paying Tech Jobs Vanish](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/india-it-jobs-ai-automation-2026)
- [Entry-Level Grads Are Grabbing Any Paycheck as the Job Market Turns Brutal](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/entry-level-grads-any-paycheck-brutal-market-2026)
- [Kia Will Test Graduate Applicants on How Well They Work With AI](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/kia-graduate-hiring-ai-collaboration-assessment)
- [Universities Are Launching AI Degrees This Fall and Graduates Are Asking What They Buy](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/ai-bachelors-degrees-launch-graduate-job-value)
- [Why Cutting Entry-Level Jobs Could Backfire on Employers](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/why-cutting-entry-level-jobs-could-backfire-on-employers)
- [The AI Skills Gap and What It Means for Your Salary](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/ai-skills-gap-and-your-salary)

## People Also Asked

### Q: Is Sri Lanka's youth unemployment rate really 43 percent?

A: No, that figure covers only people aged 15 to 24 with post-secondary education, as shown in the [Xinhua report on the IMF chart](http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/20260921/d246932bea6d472483f4944b7477a350/c.html). The national rate for all 15 to 24 year olds was [19.5 percent in 2025](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025).

### Q: Which degrees do most unemployed Sri Lankan graduates hold?

A: Arts degree holders make up about [50.1 percent of the 39,680 unemployed graduates](https://www.statistics.gov.lk/LabourForce/StaticalInformation/AnnualReports/2025) aged 20 and above that the national survey counted in 2025.

### Q: How much does a new government teacher earn in Sri Lanka?

A: Under the 2026 recruitment notice, new graduate teachers are placed at [64,440 rupees a month](https://www.gazette.lk/dl/Applications/Competitive-Examination-for-Recruitment-to-the-Teachers%27Service-Open-E.pdf) on the teachers' salary scale, plus allowances granted to public officers, in a permanent and pensionable post.

Stay ahead of the market. [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com) brings together 50M jobs in one place. [Create a profile](https://www.metaintro.com/signup) and start your search.

### Share this article

[https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent)[http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent)[https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent&title=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent&title=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It)[mailto:?subject=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent](mailto:?subject=43%25%20of%20Sri%20Lankans%20Aged%2015%20to%2024%20With%20Post-Secondary%20Education%20Are%20Jobless%2C%20and%20the%20Skills%20Gap%20Behind%20It&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fsri-lanka-graduate-youth-unemployment-43-percent)

For job seekers

## Skip the job boards. Keep the career.

Tell Metaintro your story once. It reads every posting, every day, and brings you only what fits.

[Get Started Free](/signup)[Search matching jobs](/jobs/search)

- MatchCompare live roles against your current evidence.
- PositionTurn proof projects into role-specific applications.
- ImproveUse market feedback to keep the skill plan current.

[Return to navigation](#main-navigation)