Disputing the widely held belief that having a college education will reduce the likelihood of unemployment is the fact that most of today's unemployed workers attended college.
Investors.com reports that for the first time in history, the number of jobless workers age 25 and up who have attended some college now exceeds the ranks of those who settled for a high school diploma or less.
Only 64 percent of the labor force who attended but left college without graduating, or earned an associate degree, have gained full-time employment.
Editor's Note: I Wish I Were Wrong — Economist Laments Being Right. See Interview.
Out of 9 million unemployed in April, 4.7 million had gone to college or graduated and 4.3 million had not, seasonally adjusted Labor Department data show.
Mostly, this dramatic shift reflects broad demographic forces. Today, more people have attended college, at least for a time, while older Americans who were less likely to pursue higher education are leaving the work force.
In 2011, 57 percent of those 25 and up had attended some college versus 43 percent in 1992, while the number of those without a high school diploma fell from 21 percent to 12 percent.
However, the number of college dropouts has also increased, many with huge student loan debt but without much to kick-start their careers.
Unemployment for those 25 and up with some college but no degree was 8 percent in April compared to 6.6 percent for the age group, measured on a more volatile seasonally unadjusted basis.
Also during April, the jobless rate was 7.7 percent for 25-and-up high school grads with no college and 6.2 percent for those with a two-year college degree.
College graduates, including those with advanced degrees, has a seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 4 percent.
Boston.com reports that unemployment rates fell in two-thirds of U.S. states last month, and in many states, unemployment has fallen well below the national average.
Editor's Note: I Wish I Were Wrong — Economist Laments Being Right. See Interview.
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