Download Unemployment Rates by Educational Attainment: A Comparative Analysis and more Lecture notes Statistics in PDF only on Docsity!
Section: Economic Outcomes
Labor Force Participation and Unemployment Rates
by Educational Attainment
In 2012, the unemployment rate for those with at least a bachelor’s degree was
lower than the rates for those with lower levels of educational attainment. During
the most recent economic recession (December 2007 through June 2009), the
unemployment rate increased less for those who had at least a bachelor’s degree
than for those who had less than a bachelor’s degree.
In 2012, some 15.5 percent of young adults ages 20–
were unemployed, as were 9.2 percent of 25- to 34-year-
olds. The unemployment rates for both of these younger
age cohorts were higher than the unemployment rate
for 25- to 64-year-olds (7.4 percent), which included the
subset of 25- to 34-year-olds. This pattern was consistent
across several levels of educational attainment in 2012,
such as the attainment levels of high school completion
and of some college education. Educational attainment
in this indicator refers to the highest level of education
achieved (i.e., less than high school completion, high
school completion, some college education, or a bachelor’s
degree or higher). In this indicator, the unemployment
rate is defined as the percentage of persons in the civilian
labor force who are not working and who made specific
efforts to find employment during the prior 4 weeks. The
civilian labor force refers to the civilian population who
are employed or seeking employment.
Figure 1. Unemployment rates, by age group and educational attainment: 2012
Age group
Percent unemployed
Bachelor’s degree or higher
Some college, no bachelor’s degree
Less than high school Total (^) completion High school completion
Ages 20–24 Ages 25–34 Ages 25–
NOTE: The unemployment rate is the percentage of persons in the civilian labor force who are not working and who made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the prior 4 weeks. The civilian labor force consists of all civilians who are employed or seeking employment. Data for 20- to 24-year-olds exclude persons enrolled in school. High school completion includes equivalency credentials, such as the General Educational Development (GED) credential. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, unpublished annual average data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), 2012. See Digest of Education Statistics 2012, table 434.
For more information, see the Reader’s Guide and the Guide to Sources.
Section: Economic Outcomes
Between 1990 and 2012, the unemployment rate for
individuals without a bachelor’s degree was generally
higher than the rate for their peers with at least a
bachelor’s degree. This pattern was consistent for young
adults (ages 20–24), 25- to 34-year-olds, and 25- to
64-year-olds. In 2012, for example, the unemployment
rate for young adults (ages 20–24) was 27.6 percent for
those who did not complete high school, 18.3 percent for
those whose highest level of education was high school
completion, and 12.7 percent for those with some college
education, compared with an unemployment rate of 6.
percent for those with at least a bachelor’s degree. For
25- to 34-year-olds, the unemployment rates for those
with some college education (10.1 percent), high school
completers (12.8 percent), and those who did not complete
high school (16.8 percent) were also higher than the
unemployment rate for those with a bachelor’s degree or
higher (4.1 percent). This pattern of higher unemployment
rates corresponding with lower levels of educational
attainment also generally held across males and females
for each age group from 1990 to 2012.
In 2012, for young adults ages 20–24, the unemployment rates of males and females were not measurably different at each level of educational attainment examined, although the overall unemployment rate was higher for males (16.6 percent) than for females (14.1 percent). For 25- to 64-year-olds, the unemployment rate overall as well as that for high school completers was higher for males (8.0 and 10.1 percent, respectively) than for females (6. and 8.1 percent, respectively). For individuals ages 25–34, the overall male unemployment rate and the rate for males with some college education (10.0 and 11.1 percent, respectively) were higher than the corresponding female unemployment rates (8.2 and 9.1 percent, respectively). However, the unemployment rate for males who did not complete high school (14.3 percent) was lower than that for their female counterparts (22.0 percent). For individuals ages 25–34 whose educational attainment was high school completion and for those with at least a bachelor’s degree, the employment rates for males and females were not measurably different.
Figure 2. Unemployment rates of persons 20 to 24 years old, by sex and educational attainment: Selected years,
1990 through 2012
Year Year
Percent unemployed Men Percent unemployed Women
Some college, no bachelor’s degree
Bachelor’s degree or higher High school completion
Less than high school completion
NOTE: The unemployment rate is the percentage of persons in the civilian labor force who are not working and who made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the prior 4 weeks. The civilian labor force consists of all civilians who are employed or seeking employment. Data for 20- to 24-year-olds exclude persons enrolled in school. High school completion includes equivalency credentials, such as the General Educational Development (GED) credential. The unemployment rates for males and females with a bachelor’s degree or higher in 1990 as well as for females with a bachelor’s degree or higher in 1995 were suppressed because reporting standards were not met. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, unpublished annual average data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), selected years, 1990 through 2012. See Digest of Education Statistics 2012, tables 435 and 436.
For more information, see the Reader’s Guide and the Guide to Sources.
Section: Economic Outcomes
As was the case for male young adults ages 20–24, unemployment rates for both male and female 25- to 64-year-olds also increased from 2008 to 2010 at each level of educational attainment. The increase in the unemployment rate from 2008 to 2010 was higher for both males and females who did not complete high school, who did complete high school, and who had some college education than for both males and females who had at least a bachelor’s degree. From 2008 to 2010, for 25- to 64-year-olds, the unemployment rate increased 6.9 percentage points (from 10.9 to 17.8 percent) for males who did not complete high school, 7.5 percentage points (from 6.3 to 13.8 percent) for male high school completers, and 6.0 percentage points (from 4.2 to 10. percent) for males with some college education, whereas it increased 3.1 percentage points (from 2.0 to 5.1 percent) for males with at least a bachelor’s degree. During the same period, the unemployment rate increases were 6. percentage points (from 8.5 to 15.0 percent) for females who did not complete high school, 4.8 percentage
points (from 5.1 to 9.8 percent) for female high school completers, and 3.3 percentage points (from 4.2 to 7.5 percent) for females with some college education, compared with an increase of 2.2 percentage points (from 2.1 to 4.3 percent) for females with at least a bachelor’s degree. From 2010 to 2012, unemployment rates for 25- to 64-year-old males decreased at each level of educational attainment: the decreases were 0.8 percentage points (from 5.1 to 4.3 percent) for males with at least a bachelor’s degree, 2.0 percentage points (from 10.2 to 8.2 percent) for males with some college education, 3. percentage points (from 13.8 to 10.1 percent) for male high school completers, and 4.2 percentage points (from 17.8 to 13.6 percent) for males who did not complete high school. The unemployment rate for female high school completers also decreased from 2010 to 2012 (from 9. to 8.1 percent). Nevertheless, for both male and female 25- to 64-year-olds at each level of educational attainment unemployment rates in 2012 remained higher than they had been in 2008.
Figure 4. Unemployment rates of persons 25 to 34 years old, by sex and educational attainment: Selected years,
1990 through 2012
Year Year
Percent unemployed Men Percent unemployed Women
Less than high school completion
High school completion
Some college, no bachelor’s degree
Bachelor’s degree or higher
NOTE: The unemployment rate is the percentage of persons in the civilian labor force who are not working and who made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the prior 4 weeks. The civilian labor force consists of all civilians who are employed or seeking employment. High school completion includes equivalency credentials, such as the General Educational Development (GED) credential. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, unpublished annual average data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), selected years, 1990 through 2012. See Digest of Education Statistics 2012, tables 435 and 436.
For more information, see the Reader’s Guide and the Guide to Sources.
Section: Economic Outcomes
For 25- to 34-year-olds, the change in unemployment
rates from 2008 to 2010 followed a pattern similar to
that of the change in unemployment rates for 25- to
64-year-olds. For example, from 2008 to 2010 the
unemployment rate increases were 9.3 percentage points
(from 8.5 to 17.8 percent) for male high school completers
and 6.8 percentage points (from 5.0 to 11.8 percent) for
males with some college education, compared with a
2.7-percentage-point increase (from 2.1 to 4.8 percent)
for males with at least a bachelor’s degree. For females,
from 2008 to 2010 the unemployment rates increased
4.3 percentage points (from 5.1 to 9.3 percent) for
those with some college education and 6.7 percentage
points (from 12.8 to 19.5 percent) for those who did not complete high school, compared with a 2.0-percentage- point increase (from 2.3 to 4.3 percent) for those with at least a bachelor’s degree. Between 2010 and 2012, the unemployment rate did not change measurably for females ages 25–34 overall or at any level of educational attainment. The unemployment rate for males, however, was lower in 2012 than in 2010 for those who did not complete high school (14.3 vs. 20.7 percent) and for high school completers (13.5 vs. 17.8 percent). For both male and female 25- to 34-year-olds, the unemployment rate remained higher in 2012 than in 2008, except in the case of males who did not complete high school.
Reference tables: Digest of Education Statistics 2012, tables 434,
435, 436
Glossary: Bachelor’s degree, Educational attainment, High school completer
For more information, see the Reader’s Guide and the Guide to Sources.
