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Chapter 5: Outcomes of Education
This chapter contains tables comparing educational attainment and workforce characteristics. The data show labor force status, income levels, and occupations of high school dropouts and high school and college graduates. Most of these tables are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Population characteristics are provided for many of the measures to allow for comparisons among various demographic groups. While most of the tables in this chapter focus on labor market outcomes, the chapter ends with several tables on adults’ attitudes, skills, and participation in continuing education.
Statistics related to outcomes of education appear in other sections of the Digest. Chapter 1 includes statistics on educational attainment of the entire population. Chapters 2 and 3 have more detailed data on the numbers of high school and college graduates. Chapter 3 also contains trend data on the percentage of high school completers going to college. Chapter 6 includes international comparisons of employment rates by educational attainment. In addition, data on earnings by educational attainment may be obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Reports, Series P-60. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has a series of publications regarding the educational characteristics of the labor force.
Further information on survey methodologies can be found in Appendix A: Guide to Sources and in the publications cited in the table source notes.
Labor Force Participation by Education Level
In 2018, the labor force participation rate—the percentage of people either employed or actively seeking employment—was generally higher for adults with higher levels of educational attainment than for those with less education. Among 25- to 64-year-olds, 87 percent of those with a bachelor’s or higher degree participated in the labor force in 2018, compared with 72 percent of those who had completed only high school and 61 percent of those who had not completed high school (table 501.10). Within each education level, the labor force participation rate also varied by race/ethnicity. For 25- to 64-year-olds who had completed only high school, the 2018 labor force participation rate was highest for those who were Hispanic (77 percent), followed by those who were Asian (74 percent), White (72 percent), Black (69 percent), and American Indian/Alaska Native (61 percent). The same patterns by race/ethnicity were observed for 25- to 64-year-olds who had not completed high school. For 25- to 64-year-olds with a bachelor’s or higher degree in 2018, the labor force participation rate was highest for those who were Black (89 percent), followed by those who were Hispanic (88 percent), White (87 percent), and then Asian and American Indian/Alaska Native (84 and 82 percent, respectively, which were not measurably different from each other).
In 2019, the unemployment rate—the percentage of people in the labor force who are not employed and who have made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the prior 4 weeks—was generally higher for people with lower levels of educational attainment than for those with more education. The unemployment rate for 25- to 64-year-olds who had not completed high school was 6 percent in 2019, compared with 4 percent for those who had completed only high school and 2 percent for those with a bachelor’s or higher degree (table 501.80). Among 25- to 34-year-olds, the 2019 unemployment rate was 10 percent for those who had not completed high school, 6 percent for high school completers, and 2 percent for those with a bachelor’s or higher degree (table 501.80 and figure 22).
In 2019, the employment to population ratio—the percentage of the population that is employed—was generally higher for people with higher levels of educational attainment than for those with less education. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, for example, 87 percent of those with a bachelor’s or higher degree were employed in 2019, compared with 74 percent of those who had completed only high school and 57 percent of those who had not completed high school (table 501.50 and figure 23).
The relative difficulties that high school dropouts encounter in entering the job market are highlighted by comparing the labor force participation and employment to population ratio of recent high school dropouts with those of recent high school completers who did not immediately enroll in postsecondary education. In October 2018, about 47 percent of 2017–18 high school dropouts participated in the labor force (i.e., were either employed or looking for work), which was lower than the labor force participation rate for high school completers who were not enrolled in college (74 percent; tables 504.10 and 504.20 and figure 24). Similarly, the employment to population ratio for recent high school dropouts (41 percent) was lower than that for recent high school completers who were not enrolled in college (60 percent). However, the percentage of recent high school dropouts who were unemployed (6 percent) was lower than the percentage for recent high school completers who were not enrolled in college (14 percent).
In 2019, about 7 percent of employed people age 25 and over had not completed high school and 25 percent had completed high school only (table 502.10). In contrast, about half (53 percent) of all employed people age 25 and over had a postsecondary degree (i.e., an associate’s or higher degree), which included 26 percent who had a bachelor’s degree and 16 percent who had a master’s or higher degree.
Earnings by Education Level
Median annual earnings were generally higher for adults with higher levels of educational attainment than for those with lower levels of educational attainment. Among full-time year-round workers age 25 and over, both males and females who had more education generally earned more than their counterparts of the same sex who had less education. In 2018, for example, males whose highest level of educational attainment was a bachelor’s degree earned 65 percent more than males whose highest level of attainment was high school completion, and females who had attained a bachelor’s degree earned 74 percent more than females who had only completed high school (table E and table 502.20).
Among full-time year-round workers age 25 and over, the earnings of females were lower than the earnings of males overall, as well as at each education level. For example, median 2018 earnings for full-time year-round workers whose highest level of educational attainment was a bachelor’s degree were 33 percent higher for males than for females. Among those who had only completed high school, median 2018 earnings were 40 percent higher for males than for females (table 502.20).
Differences in earnings by sex at the same level of education can also be seen in the changes in median annual earnings between 1995 and 2018 (adjusted for inflation). For full-time year-round workers age 25 and over who had started but not completed high school, median annual earnings in 2018 were $35,600 for males and $25,140 for females, and were not measurably different from 1995 for either group (table 502.20). Among those who had completed high school only, male and female full-time year-round workers in 2018 earned $45,580 and $32,620, respectively, reflecting constant dollar declines for both since 1995 (down 6 percent from $48,630 for males and 3 percent from $33,720 for females). In contrast, females whose highest level of attainment was a bachelor’s degree saw median annual earnings that were 7 percent higher in 2018 ($56,680) than in 1995 ($52,820). This was not the case for male bachelor’s degree holders. Although their earnings in 2018 ($75,150) were higher than those for female bachelor’s degree holders, they were not measurably different than in 1995, after adjustment for inflation.
Earnings for Recent College Graduates
Economic returns to education differ not only by level of educational attainment, but by field of study. For 25- to 29-year-old full-time year-round workers with a bachelor’s degree (i.e., workers whose earnings are most directly determined by their recent educational credentials, as opposed to job tenure), median annual earnings were $50,600 in 2018 (table 505.10 and figure 26). However, these earnings varied by degree field. For example, among the most common bachelor’s degree fields,1 median annual earnings in 2018 were over $60,000 for two fields—computer and information sciences ($70,140) and engineering and engineering-related fields ($70,890)—but below $45,000 for the fields of psychology ($41,420), education ($41,510), criminal justice and fire protection ($41,810), and fine and commercial arts ($42,520; table 505.10).
Overall, the median annual earnings of 25- to 29-year-old full-time year-round workers with a bachelor’s degree did not measurably change between 2010 and 2018, after adjustment for inflation (table 505.10). However, changes in median annual earnings from 2010 to 2018 varied by degree field. For example, inflation-adjusted median annual earnings were lower in 2018 than in 2010 for those with a bachelor’s degree in education (6 percent lower), health professions (5 percent lower), and social sciences (3 percent lower). There was no measurable change in inflation-adjusted median annual earnings for 25- to 29-year-old full-time year-round workers with a bachelor’s degree in fine and commercial arts, business, communications and communications technologies, criminal justice and fire protection, engineering and engineering-related fields, English language and literature, natural sciences, and psychology. Earnings for workers with a bachelor’s degree in computer and information sciences were 8 percent higher in 2018 than in 2010, after adjustment for inflation.
1 Degree fields in which more than 200,000 25- to 29-year-olds held bachelor’s degrees in 2018 were examined for this discussion.
