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U.S. unemployment may have hit its lowest rate in decades this January, but many Americans fresh out of college aren’t seeing gains like you might imagine from the robust job market.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest data on how recent graduates are faring in the labor market shows a college degree still pays off in terms of employment levels and earnings compared to only a high school diploma.
But numbers released Friday show that the unemployment rates for young college grads can vary dramatically depending on their choice of majors. What's more, wages for recent grads are coming up short in the face of sky-high inflation.
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What the data says
- Median annual earnings adjusted for inflation for recent college graduates (people 22 to 27 with at least a bachelor's) decelerated from $56,156 in 2021 to $52,000 last year, the steepest decline in earnings recorded since 2004.
- The wage figures in the study are in 2022 dollars, and last year stood out for having the highest inflation rate in decades. The takeaway is that the money earned by recent grads in 2022 didn't go as far as their typical earnings in previous years. In 2020, median annual earnings for this group reached a record high of $56,526 (in 2022 dollars), and in 2002, the corresponding figure was $55,314.
- Meanwhile, people ages 22 to 27 with a high school diploma (and not a college degree) saw their median annual wages go up from $32,398 in 2021 to $34,320 last year.
- The unemployment rates for fresh grads was 4.1% in December 2022, lower than the 4.7% in December 2021 but a slight uptick from 3.9% recorded last October.
- Workers ages 22 to 27 without a bachelor's degree fared the worst when it came to hiring, with an unemployment rate of 7.6% in December 2022, compared to 3.5% for all workers.
- Unemployment rates for college grads overall were stable in 2022, hovering around 2% in the last half of the year following consistent declines from June 2020 to May 2022.
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College majors with the lowest unemployment rates
The following rankings apply to recent college grads — people ages 22 to 27 with at least a bachelor's degree:
- Miscellaneous education (0.6%)
- Nursing (1.3%)
- Construction services (1.4%)
- General education (1.8%)
- Elementary education (1.8%)
- Nutrition sciences (1.8%)
- Architecture (2.1%)
- Business analytics (2.2%)
- Agriculture (2.4%)
- Secondary education (2.6%)
College majors with the highest unemployment rate
- Fine arts (12.1%)
- Philosophy (9.1%)
- Sociology (9%)
- Family and consumer sciences (8.9%)
- Mass media (8.4%)
- Commercial art and graphic design (7.9%)
- Foreign language (7.8%)
- Performing arts (7.6%)
- Public policy and law (7.4%)
- Engineering technologies (7.1%)
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FAQs
Majors with highest and lowest unemployment rates. Nursing and Elementary Educa- tion majors have the lowest unemployment rates among recent graduates. Architecture and Information Systems major have the highest.
What major has the highest unemployment rate? ›
The top 10 U.S. College Majors with the Highest Unemployment Rates
- Art History - 8% unemployment rate, 62.3% underemployment rate.
- Liberal Arts - 7.9% unemployment rate, 56.7% underemployment rate.
- Fine Arts - 7.9% unemployment rate, 55.5% underemployment rate.
Engineering degrees took nine out of 10 spots on the list of the 10 highest paying college majors, five years after graduation. No surprise, majoring in engineering and finance yields the biggest paydays five years after graduating college, while majoring in liberal arts or performing arts pays the least.
What level of education has the lowest unemployment rate? ›
Workers with graduate degrees had the lowest unemployment rates and highest earnings. These data come from the BLS Current Population Survey (bls.gov/cps), a monthly survey that collects information about the labor force, including age, sex, and other characteristics.
What has the lowest unemployment rate? ›
Unemployment Rates for States
| State | April 2024(p) rate | Rank |
|---|
| North Dakota | 2.0 | 1 |
| South Dakota | 2.0 | 1 |
| Vermont | 2.1 | 3 |
| Nebraska | 2.5 | 4 |
49 more rowsSign Up with Pathway U!
- MILITARY TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLIED SCIENCES. ...
- COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES. ...
- LEGAL PROFESSIONS AND STUDIES. ...
- TRANSPORTATION AND MATERIALS MOVING. ...
- THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS. ...
- AREA, ETHNIC, AND GENDER STUDIES. ...
- ARCHITECTURE AND RELATED SERVICES. ...
- PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES.
Majors with the highest unemployment rates
- Mass Media. Unemployment: 7.8% Underemployment: 55.2% ...
- Liberal Arts. Unemployment: 6.7% Underemployment: 58.4% ...
- Anthropology. Unemployment: 6.6% Underemployment: 59.1% ...
- Philosophy. Unemployment: 6.2% Underemployment: 50.9% ...
- Construction Services. Unemployment: 6.1%
U.S. unemployment rate of recent graduates 2016-2023
In December 2023, about 4.8 percent of recent college graduates were unemployed in the United States.
What is the easiest degree to get? ›
10 Easiest Bachelor's Degrees of 2024
- Business. Interested in an easy major with many career options? ...
- Communications. As a communications major, you'll study mass media, public relations, and journalism. ...
- Criminal Justice. ...
- Education. ...
- English. ...
- General Studies. ...
- Health Science. ...
- Liberal Arts.
Ranked: U.S. Majors with the Highest Unemployment Rates
| Rank | U.S. Major | Underemployment Rate |
|---|
| 1 | 🎨 Art History | 62.3% |
| 2 | 📘 Liberal Arts | 56.7% |
| 3 | 🖌️ Fine Arts | 55.5% |
| 4 | 🚀 Aerospace Engineering | 17.9% |
7 more rowsMar 30, 2024
College majors that pay the least right after college
- Liberal Arts $38,000.
- Performing Arts $38,000.
- Theology + Religion $38,000.
- Leisure + Hospitality $39,700.
- General Social Sciences $40,000.
- History $40,000.
- Miscellaneous Biological Science $40,000.
- Fine Arts $40,000.
The worst master's degree for job prospects was found to be counseling with a median mid-career salary of 50,676 U.S. dollars in 2021. Master's in social work and music were also though to have low job prospects.
What five majors have the lowest unemployment rate? ›
College majors with the lowest unemployment rates
- Construction services (1.4%)
- General education (1.8%)
- Elementary education (1.8%)
- Nutrition sciences (1.8%)
- Architecture (2.1%)
- Business analytics (2.2%)
- Agriculture (2.4%)
- Secondary education (2.6%)
New survey shows that 79% of veterinary graduates go straight into full-time employment following their degree programme – well ahead of medicine, dentistry and teaching.
Who has the lowest unemployment pay? ›
Policies and benefits vary by state. Mississippi has the lowest maximum unemployment benefits in the U.S. of $235 per week, while Massachusetts has the highest at $823. North Carolina and Florida offer unemployment benefits for the shortest length of time with a maximum of 12 weeks.
What college degree is most employable? ›
Some popular college majors in high demand include computer science, nursing, engineering, finance, and data science. These fields offer excellent career prospects and competitive salaries. Computer science majors can find jobs in software development, cybersecurity, and IT consulting.
What degrees have the best employment rate? ›
They crunched the data to reveal the employment rate and the graduate salary associated with it. Interestingly the degrees that will give you the best chance of being employed quickly are medicine and dentistry, education and veterinary science.
What are 3 college majors that pay off the least? ›
Students who major in liberal arts, performing arts and theology earn the lowest salaries within five years of graduating from college, a recent New York Federal Reserve analysis reveals. All three majors made a median annual income of $38,000, the lowest out of the 75 majors in the study.
