Employment Outcomes of Recent College Graduates

One year after graduation, the unemployment rate of 2007–08 bachelor’s degree recipients (9 percent) was higher than that of their counterparts who attained their degrees in 1992-93 and 1999–2000 (4 percent and 5 percent, respectively).

This Statistics in Brief investigates the employment outcomes of 1992–93, 1999–2000, and 2007–08 college graduates 1 year after earning a bachelor’s degree. The brief first examines the employment and enrollment status of all college graduates 1 year after graduation and then detailed information on key aspects of employment, including intensity (whether employed full time, part time, or in multiple jobs), occupation, and salary of those who were employed and not enrolled 1 year after graduation. The findings indicate that these employment outcomes vary for male and female graduates, and by age group, race/ethnicity, and undergraduate major field of study.

Other key findings include:

•    In 2009, about 8 percent of female graduates who earned their degrees in 2007–08 were unemployed, compared with 10 percent of male graduates.

•    In constant dollars, median annual salaries 1 year after graduation were lower in 2009 than in 2001 for graduates in computer and information science, engineering, social science, humanities, business, and other applied fields.