AUTHOR: David M. Young – Managing Partner Search Technology
The Unemployment rate is 4.4%…
...if you have a college degree! Over the past few years, attention to the Unemployment rate has picked up as it is a barometer of the economy. For September 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) identified the national unemployment rate as 9.6%. This number is based on individuals who are 16 years of age and older who are eligible to be “in the workforce”. For simplistic terms of this discussion, that means they are not retired, in prison, and are working or are actively looking for work. This number is produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics based upon a survey of 60,000 homes.
So if the national unemployment rate is 9.6%, how does “educational attainment” affect this rate? It is also tracked, but not heavily reported upon. For September 2010 the breakdown of the unemployment rate based upon educational attainment is as follows:
4.4%: College Degree
9.1%: Less than a bachelor’s degree
10.0%: High School graduate, no college
15.4%: Less than a high school diploma
As you’d expect, based on the numbers, obtaining a College Degree assists on finding and keeping steady employment. The attached graph displays unemployment numbers for September of each year going back to the year 2000.
As you can observe, these are interesting numbers. What can be drawn from this data? The obvious is that individuals who have not completed High School have a much harder time finding employment compared to someone who has obtained a 4 year college degree. Additionally, as companies “run lean” during down economic times, individuals without a high school diploma are much more likely to be unemployed due to not having a specific skill for which they can have a long term career.
And, as a recruiter, it highlights that even in the current times of high unemployment, 95% of college degreed individuals are employed. Companies are seeking our assistance in finding and attracting future employees because they still are challenged in finding strong candidates. And individuals with college degrees need our assistance on finding where they can be a strong asset in furthering their career.
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