The employment rates of 25- to 34-year-olds were higher in 2022 than in 2021 at all levels of educational attainment. Additionally, the unemployment rates were lower in 2022 than in 2021 at all levels of educational attainment at or above high school completion. However, neither the employment rates nor the unemployment rates in 2022 were measurably different from the rates in 2019, the year before the pandemic.
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. The employment rate (also known as the employment-to-population ratio) is the percentage of persons in the civilian noninstitutionalized population who are employed.1 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 before the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 data represent the status of the labor market at the onset of the pandemic in the United States, and 2021 and 2022 data represent the status of the labor market roughly one year and two years into the pandemic, respectively.
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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. “Some college, no bachelor’s degree” includes persons with an associate’s degree. “High school completion” includes equivalency credentials, such as the GED. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2022. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, tables 501.50, 501.60, and 501.70.
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. “Some college, no bachelor’s degree” includes persons with an associate’s degree. “High school completion” includes equivalency credentials, such as the GED. Caution should be used when comparing 2020, 2021, and 2022 estimates with those of prior 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/cpsmar22.pdf.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2010 through 2022. See Digest of Education Statistics 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, table 501.50.
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. “Some college, no bachelor’s degree” includes persons with an associate’s degree. “High school completion” includes equivalency credentials, such as the GED. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2022. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, tables 501.80, 501.85, and 501.90.
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. “Some college, no bachelor’s degree” includes persons with an associate’s degree. “High school completion” includes equivalency credentials, such as the GED. Caution should be used when comparing 2020, 2021, and 2022 estimates with those of prior 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/cpsmar22.pdf.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2010 through 2022. See Digest of Education Statistics 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, table 501.80.
1 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.
2 National Bureau of Economic Research. (2021). U.S. Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions. Retrieved November 17, 2022, from https://www.nber.org/research/data/us-business-cycle-expansions-and-contractions.
3 Caution should be used when comparing 2020, 2021, and 2022 estimates with those of prior 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/cpsmar22.pdf.
4 Completed high school includes those who completed high school through equivalency programs, such as a GED program.
5 Some college education includes those with no college degree as well as those with an associate’s degree.