Millions of recent high school graduates are gearing up to attend college later this year, but the advantage in the labor market for young people with at least a bachelor's degree is the smallest on record, Federal Reserve Bank of New York data show.
The unemployment rate averaged 4.7% for recent college graduates in the three months ended in March, while it was 6.2% for young workers without a bachelor's degree, according to the regional Fed bank. So while the higher-education premium still exists, the gap is the narrowest in data back to 1990. At the same time, the cost to attend college is rising.
A decade ago, the unemployment rate for young workers — those aged 22 to 27 without a bachelor's degree — was nearly 12% compared with 5.4% for similar-age graduates who had earned at least a bachelor's degree.
Another unwelcome issue facing recent college graduates is that the underemployment rate has climbed about 3 percentage points since the end of 2022. In March, about four in 10 young college grads were working in jobs that typically do not require a college degree.
Source: EBN
Comments