Music graduates are more often unemployed than average one year after their studies

One year after graduating, musicians with a degree from a university of applied sciences (UAS) are more often unemployed than the average UAS graduate. That is what figures from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) show, analysed by the Schweizer Musikzeitung on 18 September 2026.¹

In the FSO's survey of higher education graduates, the field of 'Music, theatre and other arts' has the highest unemployment rate of all fields at UAS bachelor's level: 10.8 per cent, measured according to the definition of the International Labour Office (ILO).² The 2024 graduating cohort was surveyed in 2025.² At UAS master's level, the field ranks second at 8.2 per cent, behind design, according to the Musikzeitung.¹

At the Musikzeitung's request, the FSO calculated separate figures for music professions alone: 5.4 per cent for bachelor's graduates and 9.0 per cent for master's graduates.¹ The office advises reading these figures with caution because of wide confidence intervals.¹ For comparison, across all UAS fields the rates are 4.9 per cent (bachelor's) and 6.2 per cent (master's).¹ The count covers people who are unemployed one year after graduating. These rates say nothing about income, or about whether those in work are working in music.

At the same time, music schools are looking for teachers. 'Vor allem für ländliche Musikschulen ist es schwierig, insbesondere in begehrten Fächern wie Klavier und Gitarre' (it is difficult above all for rural music schools, especially in popular subjects such as piano and guitar), Philippe Krüttli, president of the Swiss Association of Music Schools (VMS), told the Musikzeitung.¹ Often, according to the Musikzeitung, there is no shortage of applications, but of qualifications; many candidates from abroad do not speak the national languages well enough, says Krüttli.¹ But he also sees a duty for the sector itself: teaching has to become more attractive, in terms of time slots, job security and workload.¹

In Graubünden, music schools coordinate so that they can offer teachers of rarely chosen instruments an attractive workload overall, says Urban Derungs, head of the Musikschule Chur.¹ According to KMHS president Valentin Gloor, the VMS and the Swiss Conference of Music Universities (KMHS) are working together on further qualifications for musicians who move into teaching later on, and have defined minimum standards for knowledge of the national languages.¹

The trend is not limited to music: at UAS bachelor's level, the unemployment rate one year after graduation across all fields rose from 3.4 to 4.9 per cent between 2023 and 2025.² Graduates named a lack of work experience as the most common reason for difficulties in finding a job.²

What you can do now: if you are considering teaching as one of your mainstays, look beyond the cities. According to the VMS, posts in piano and guitar are particularly hard to fill in rural areas.¹ You can find music schools in your region in the directory.