Question:
Do you have statistics on employment characteristics of students with a bachelor’s degree?
Response:
Four years after earning their 2015–16 bachelor’s degrees, 74 percent of graduates worked full time, and 7 percent worked part time. Fourteen percent of graduates were out of the labor force, and 4 percent were unemployed.1
Percentage distribution of 2015–16 bachelor’s degree earners, by employment characteristics in 2020 | ||||||
Employment characteristics | 2015–16 bachelor’s degree earners | |||||
Employment status as of 4 years after 2015–16 bachelor’s degree completion1 | ||||||
Employed full time | 74.3 (0.52) | |||||
Employed part time | 7.5 (0.30) | |||||
Out of the labor force2 | 14.3 (0.43) | |||||
Unemployed3 | 4.0 (0.24) | |||||
Annualized earned income in most recent job as of 4 years after 2015–16 bachelor’s degree completion4 | ||||||
Lowest quarter of income | 24.0 (0.51) | |||||
Lower middle quarter of income | 24.7 (0.45) | |||||
Higher middle quarter of income | 24.3 (0.48) | |||||
Highest quarter of income | 24.3 (0.47) | |||||
No job within 4 years after bachelor’s degree completion | 2.6 (0.20) | |||||
Occupation of most recent job as of 4 years after 2015–16 bachelor’s degree completion5 | ||||||
Business/management occupations | 19.7 (0.49) | |||||
Life science occupations | 1.3 (0.11) | |||||
Math, computer, and physical science occupations | 8.0 (0.29) | |||||
Engineers | 4.6 (0.20) | |||||
Nurses | 6.0 (0.22) | |||||
Other health care occupations6 | 7.2 (0.26) | |||||
PreK–12 educators | 5.8 (0.24) | |||||
Social services professionals | 5.0 (0.21) | |||||
Sales occupations | 5.8 (0.30) | |||||
Business support/administrative assistance | 9.6 (0.36) | |||||
Other white-collar occupations7 | 12.8 (0.39) | |||||
Other occupations8 | 11.5 (0.33) | |||||
Military status as of 2020 | ||||||
Veteran | 4.0 (0.19) | |||||
Active duty, Reserves, or National Guard | 1.5 (0.14) | |||||
No military service | 94.4 (0.22) |
1 Employment status is based on all of the respondent’s jobs and job-search activities 4 years after completion of the 2015–16 bachelor’s degree. 2 “Out of the labor force” includes respondents who were not working and not looking for work. 3 “Unemployed” includes respondents who were not working but were looking for work. 4 Annualized earned income in most recent job is calculated for the respondent’s most recent job within 4 years of completing the 2015–16 bachelor’s degree. “Most recent job” is the respondent’s current job 4 years after bachelor’s degree completion or the respondent’s most recent job held for 4 or more months within 4 years after bachelor’s degree completion. If the respondent had more than one employer, then the employer with the longest duration was selected as the respondent’s most recent employer. “Lowest quarter of income” includes those with incomes greater than zero but less than $31,186; “lower middle quarter of income” includes those with incomes between $31,186 and $46,990; “higher middle quarter of income” includes those with incomes between $46,991 and $65,989; and those in the “highest quarter of income” had incomes of $65,990 or more. “No job within 4 years after bachelor’s degree completion” includes 2015–16 bachelor’s degree earners who never had a most recent job that they held for 4 or more months within 4 years after bachelor’s degree completion. 5 The 2.6 percent of 2015–16 bachelor’s degree earners who never had a job within 4 years after bachelor’s degree completion are included in the estimate denominator, but they are not reported again. See “No job within 4 years after bachelor’s degree completion” under “Annualized earned income in most recent job as of 4 years after 2015–16 bachelor’s degree completion” for information on this group. 6 “Other health care occupations” includes non-nurse health care professionals and other health care occupations. 7 “Other white-collar occupations” includes air transportation professionals, artists and designers, communication professionals, information professionals, legal professionals, postsecondary educators, other educators, and social scientists. 8 “Other occupations” includes agriculture occupations; construction and mining occupations; fitters, tradesmen, and mechanics; food service occupations; military; personal care occupations; protective service occupations; sports occupations; and transportation support occupations. NOTE: Standard errors in parentheses. Estimates pertain to individuals who completed the requirements for a bachelor’s degree in 2015–16 and were awarded their degree by a Title IV eligible postsecondary institution in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico no later than June 30, 2017. This table includes all 2015–16 bachelor’s degree earners, including the 8.7 percent of respondents for whom the 2015–16 bachelor’s degree was not their first bachelor’s degree. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
1 The period 4 years after respondents earned a bachelor’s degree included the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic for approximately half of the B&B:16/20 sample. For a more detailed look at employment status and other employment-related information in the context of COVID-19, see Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B:16/20): A First Look at the 2020 Experiences of 2015–16 College Graduates During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B:16/20): A First Look at the 2020 Employment and Educational Experiences of 2015–16 College Graduates (NCES 2022-241). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2022/2022241.pdf.
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