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Population Characteristics and Economic Outcomes

Employment and Unemployment Rates by Educational Attainment

Last Updated: May 2024
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In 2023, some 80 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds were employed, and 4 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds in the labor force were unemployed. Compared with 2019—the year before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States—the employment rate of 25- to 34-year-olds was higher in 2023, while the unemployment rate was not measurably different.
This indicator examines recent trends in two distinct yet related measures of labor market conditions for 25- to 34-year-olds: the employment rate and the unemployment rate.1 The employment rate (also known as the employment-to-population ratio) is the percentage of persons in the civilian noninstitutionalized population who are employed.2 The unemployment rate is the percentage of persons in the civilian noninstitutionalized labor force (i.e., all civilians who are employed or seeking employment) who are not working and who made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the prior 4 weeks. It is important to note that the reference period for each year of data is March, meaning that 2019 data represent the status of the labor market roughly 1 year before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, 2020 data represent the status of the labor market at the onset of the pandemic, and 2021 and 2022 data represent the status of the labor market roughly 1 year and 2 years into the pandemic, respectively. Employment and unemployment rates for 2023 represent the status of the labor market close to when the federal COVID-19 public health emergency declaration ended.3 Reported levels of educational attainment for 25- to 34-year-olds in this indicator refer to a person’s highest degree earned or level of school completed.

Select a subgroup characteristic from the drop-down menu below to view relevant text and figures.

Educational attainment
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All available findings Sex or gender Time series
Figure 1. Employment rates of 25- to 34-year-olds, by sex and educational attainment: 2023
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A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
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1 “High school completion” includes equivalency credentials, such as the GED.

2 “Some college, no bachelor’s degree” includes persons with an associate’s degree.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities) and all military personnel. The employment rate, or employment-to-population ratio, is the number of persons in each group who are employed as a percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population in that group. For information about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Current Population Survey data collection, please see https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar23.pdf. Figures are plotted based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2023. See Digest of Education Statistics 2023, tables 501.50, 501.60, and 501.70.

In 2023, some 80 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds were employed. The employment rate was higher for those with higher levels of educational attainment. For example, the overall employment rate was
  • highest for those with a bachelor’s or higher degree (88 percent); and
  • lowest for those who had not completed high school (60 percent).
The same pattern was observed for both sexes. For example, the employment rate for females was highest for those with a bachelor’s or higher degree (85 percent) and lowest for those who had not completed high school (42 percent). [Sex or gender]
The overall employment rate was higher for 25- to 34-year-old males (85 percent) than for their female peers (76 percent) in 2023. This difference in employment rates between males and females is called a gender gap. In 2023, the gender gap existed at each level of educational attainment but was smaller at higher levels of educational attainment. For instance, the gender gap was
  • smallest for those with a bachelor’s or higher degree (6 percentage points); and
  • largest for those who had not completed high school (31 percentage points).
[Sex or gender]
Figure 2. Employment rates of 25- to 34-year-olds, by educational attainment: 2013 through 2023
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Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Line | Line Breakout | Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
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Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
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1 “High school completion” includes equivalency credentials, such as the GED.

2 “Some college, no bachelor’s degree” includes persons with an associate’s degree.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities) and all military personnel. The employment rate, or employment-to-population ratio, is the number of persons in each group who are employed as a percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population in that group. Caution should be used when comparing 2019, 2020, and 2021 estimates with those of other years due to the impact that the coronavirus pandemic had on interviewing and response rates. For additional information about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Current Population Survey data collection, please see https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar23.pdf. Figures are plotted based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2013 through 2023. See Digest of Education Statistics 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 table 501.50.

From 2013 to 2019 (i.e., prior to the coronavirus pandemic), overall employment for 25- to 34-year-olds increased from 75 percent in 2013 to 79 percent in 2019. During the pandemic—from 2020 through 2023—overall employment for 25- to 34-year-olds was lowest in 2021 (76 percent).4 At each level of educational attainment, the employment rates for 25- to 34-year-olds in 2023 were higher than the rates in 2021 and not measurably different from the rates in 2019, the year immediately before the pandemic. For example, among 25- to 34-year-olds whose highest level of educational attainment was high school completion,5 employment rates were 74 percent in 2019, then 68 percent in 2021, and 74 percent in 2023. [Time series ]
Figure 3. Unemployment rates of 25- to 34-year-olds, by sex and educational attainment: 2023
Hover, click, and tap to see more for all figures on this page.
Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
X
Embed this figure

1 “High school completion” includes equivalency credentials, such as the GED.

2 “Some college, no bachelor’s degree” includes persons with an associate’s degree.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities) and all military personnel. The unemployment rate is the percentage of persons in the civilian labor force who are not working and who made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the prior 4 weeks. The civilian labor force consists of all civilians who are employed or seeking employment. For information about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Current Population Survey data collection, please see https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar23.pdf. Figures are plotted based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2023. See Digest of Education Statistics 2023, tables 501.80, 501.85, and 501.90.

In 2023, some 4 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds in the labor force were unemployed. For both males and females, the unemployment rates were generally higher at lower levels of educational attainment. For males, the unemployment rates for those with a bachelor’s or higher degree (3 percent) and those with some college but no bachelor’s degree6 (4 percent) were lower than for those who had completed high school (7 percent) and those who had not completed high school (8 percent). The pattern was similar for females. Females with a bachelor’s or higher degree (2 percent) had a lower unemployment rate than their peers with lower levels of educational attainment (ranging from 4 to 11 percent). [Sex or gender]
In 2023, among 25- to 34-year-olds, males had a higher overall unemployment rate than females (5 vs. 4 percent). However, there were no measurable gender gaps at any specific level of educational attainment in 2023. [Sex or gender]
Figure 4. Unemployment rates of 25- to 34-year-olds, by educational attainment: 2013 through 2023
Hover, click, and tap to see more for all figures on this page.
Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Line | Line Breakout | Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Line | Line Breakout | Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
X
Embed this figure

1 “High school completion” includes equivalency credentials, such as the GED.

2 “Some college, no bachelor’s degree” includes persons with an associate’s degree.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities) and all military personnel. The unemployment rate is the percentage of persons in the civilian labor force who are not working and who made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the prior 4 weeks. The civilian labor force consists of all civilians who are employed or seeking employment. Caution should be used when comparing 2019, 2020, and 2021 estimates with those of other years due to the impact that the coronavirus pandemic had on interviewing and response rates. For additional information about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Current Population Survey data collection, please see https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar23.pdf. Figures are plotted based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2013 through 2023. See Digest of Education Statistics 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, table 501.80.

For 25- to 34-year-olds overall and at each level of educational attainment, the unemployment rate decreased between 2013 and the year before the pandemic (2019). During the pandemic—from 2020 through 2023—overall unemployment was highest in 2021 (7 percent).4 The unemployment rate in 2023 was lower than the rate in 2021 at each level of educational attainment, except for those with less than high school completion, for whom the unemployment rate in 2023 was not measurably different from the rate in 2021. The 2023 unemployment rates at each level of educational attainment were not measurably different from the rates in 2019, the year immediately before the pandemic. For example, among 25- to 34-year-olds who had completed high school as their highest level of educational attainment, unemployment rates were 6 percent in 2019, then 10 percent in 2021, and 7 percent in 2023. [Time series ]

1 For general technical notes related to data analysis, data interpretation, rounding, and other considerations, please refer to the Reader’s Guide.

2 Data in this indicator are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities) and all military personnel.

3 The federal COVID-19 public health emergency declaration ended on May 11, 2023.

4 Caution should be used when comparing 2019, 2020, and 2021 estimates with those of other years due to the impact that the coronavirus pandemic had on interviewing and response rates. For additional information about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Current Population Survey data collection, please see https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar23.pdf.

5 Refers to those whose highest level of education completed is a high school diploma or an equivalency credential such as a GED.

6 Some college education includes those with no college degree as well as those with an associate’s degree.

Supplemental Information

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Disability Rates and Employment Status by Educational Attainment [The Condition of Education 2017 Spotlight]
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Post-Bachelor’s Employment Outcomes by Sex and Race/Ethnicity [The Condition of Education 2016 Spotlight]
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Trends in Employment Rates by Educational Attainment [The Condition of Education 2013 Spotlight]
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Unemployment [Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups]
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Table 501.50 (Digest 2023): Employment-to-population ratios of persons 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2023;
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Table 501.60 (Digest 2023): Employment-to-population ratios of males 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2023;
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Table 501.70 (Digest 2023): Employment-to-population ratios of females 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2023;
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Table 501.80 (Digest 2023): Unemployment rates of persons 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2023;
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Table 501.85 (Digest 2023): Unemployment rates of males 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2023;
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Table 501.90 (Digest 2023): Unemployment rates of females 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2023;
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Table 501.50 (Digest 2022): Employment-to-population ratios of persons 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2022;
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Table 501.80 (Digest 2022): Unemployment rates of persons 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2022;
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Table 501.85 (Digest 2022): Unemployment rates of males 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2022;
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Table 501.90 (Digest 2022): Unemployment rates of females 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2022;
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Table 501.50 (Digest 2021): Employment to population ratios of persons 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2021;
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Table 501.80 (Digest 2021): Unemployment rates of persons 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2021;
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Table 501.85 (Digest 2021): Unemployment rates of males 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2021;
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Table 501.90 (Digest 2021): Unemployment rates of females 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2021;
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Table 501.50 (Digest 2020): Employment to population ratios of persons 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2020;
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Table 501.80 (Digest 2020): Unemployment rates of persons 16 to 64 years old, by age group and highest level of educational attainment: Selected years, 1975 through 2020
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Associate’s degree Bachelor’s degree College Educational attainment (Current Population Survey) Employment status Gap High school completer
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Suggested Citation

National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Employment and Unemployment Rates by Educational Attainment. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved [date], from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cbc.