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Unemployment rate 2.1 percent for college grads, 3.9 percent for high school grads in August 2018

September 12, 2018

Among people age 25 and older with a bachelor's degree or more, the unemployment rate was 2.1 percent in August 2018, compared with 2.4 percent a year earlier. The national unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in August 2018, down from 4.4 percent in August 2017. (The national unemployment rate applies to people age 16 and over.)

Unemployment rates for persons 25 years and older by educational attainment, August 2008 to August 2018, seasonally adjusted
Month Less than a high school diploma High school graduates, no college Some college or associate degree Bachelor's degree and higher

Aug 2008

9.7% 5.8% 4.9% 2.8%

Sep 2008

9.8 6.2 5.0 2.6

Oct 2008

10.3 6.4 5.2 3.1

Nov 2008

10.8 7.0 5.5 3.2

Dec 2008

11.1 7.8 5.7 3.6

Jan 2009

12.4 8.2 6.5 3.9

Feb 2009

13.2 8.5 7.3 4.1

Mar 2009

14.0 9.2 7.5 4.3

Apr 2009

14.9 9.5 7.7 4.4

May 2009

15.2 10.0 7.8 4.8

Jun 2009

15.6 9.7 8.1 4.8

Jul 2009

15.3 9.5 8.0 4.8

Aug 2009

15.6 9.7 8.1 4.8

Sep 2009

14.9 10.6 8.3 5.0

Oct 2009

15.2 11.0 8.7 4.7

Nov 2009

14.7 10.3 8.8 4.8

Dec 2009

15.0 10.6 8.7 4.9

Jan 2010

15.3 10.2 8.6 4.9

Feb 2010

15.8 10.7 8.1 4.9

Mar 2010

14.9 11.0 8.4 4.9

Apr 2010

14.7 10.8 8.4 4.8

May 2010

14.6 10.9 8.2 4.6

Jun 2010

14.2 10.6 8.1 4.4

Jul 2010

13.5 10.0 8.3 4.5

Aug 2010

14.1 10.0 8.7 4.6

Sep 2010

15.6 9.7 8.9 4.5

Oct 2010

15.0 9.8 8.2 4.6

Nov 2010

15.4 10.0 8.6 5.0

Dec 2010

15.0 9.8 8.1 4.8

Jan 2011

14.3 9.5 8.1 4.3

Feb 2011

14.0 9.7 7.9 4.3

Mar 2011

14.1 9.7 7.5 4.4

Apr 2011

14.7 9.9 7.5 4.5

May 2011

14.5 9.6 7.8 4.5

Jun 2011

14.4 10.0 8.3 4.3

Jul 2011

14.5 9.1 8.3 4.2

Aug 2011

14.1 9.3 8.3 4.2

Sep 2011

14.3 9.4 8.5 4.2

Oct 2011

13.5 9.4 8.1 4.3

Nov 2011

12.8 8.8 7.7 4.4

Dec 2011

13.7 8.7 7.6 4.1

Jan 2012

13.0 8.5 7.1 4.3

Feb 2012

13.1 8.3 7.2 4.2

Mar 2012

12.8 8.1 7.5 4.1

Apr 2012

12.5 8.0 7.6 4.0

May 2012

12.9 8.3 7.7 3.9

Jun 2012

12.6 8.6 7.3 4.0

Jul 2012

12.4 8.5 7.2 4.1

Aug 2012

11.8 8.6 6.7 4.1

Sep 2012

11.7 8.5 6.6 4.0

Oct 2012

12.1 8.3 6.9 3.7

Nov 2012

12.0 8.0 6.5 3.9

Dec 2012

11.8 8.0 6.9 4.0

Jan 2013

12.0 8.1 6.9 3.8

Feb 2013

11.3 7.9 6.5 3.9

Mar 2013

11.1 7.7 6.3 3.8

Apr 2013

11.6 7.5 6.4 3.9

May 2013

11.0 7.3 6.5 3.9

Jun 2013

10.7 7.7 6.5 3.8

Jul 2013

10.8 7.5 6.1 3.8

Aug 2013

11.1 7.4 6.1 3.4

Sep 2013

10.5 7.6 6.1 3.7

Oct 2013

10.9 7.2 6.4 3.7

Nov 2013

10.7 7.2 6.4 3.4

Dec 2013

9.8 7.0 6.2 3.3

Jan 2014

9.3 6.5 5.9 3.3

Feb 2014

9.8 6.4 6.0 3.4

Mar 2014

9.4 6.3 6.0 3.4

Apr 2014

8.7 6.3 5.7 3.3

May 2014

9.2 6.5 5.5 3.2

Jun 2014

9.2 5.9 5.2 3.3

Jul 2014

9.5 6.1 5.3 3.1

Aug 2014

9.2 6.1 5.3 3.2

Sep 2014

8.5 5.4 5.4 2.9

Oct 2014

8.1 5.7 4.9 3.0

Nov 2014

8.6 5.6 4.9 3.2

Dec 2014

8.6 5.3 5.0 2.8

Jan 2015

8.3 5.4 5.2 2.8

Feb 2015

8.2 5.4 5.0 2.7

Mar 2015

8.5 5.3 4.8 2.4

Apr 2015

8.5 5.5 4.7 2.7

May 2015

8.7 5.8 4.4 2.8

Jun 2015

8.2 5.4 4.2 2.5

Jul 2015

8.3 5.5 4.3 2.5

Aug 2015

7.9 5.4 4.3 2.4

Sep 2015

7.9 5.2 4.3 2.5

Oct 2015

7.7 5.2 4.4 2.5

Nov 2015

6.8 5.4 4.4 2.5

Dec 2015

6.5 5.6 4.2 2.5

Jan 2016

7.0 5.2 4.2 2.5

Feb 2016

7.0 5.3 4.2 2.5

Mar 2016

7.3 5.4 4.2 2.6

Apr 2016

7.6 5.5 4.2 2.4

May 2016

7.4 5.1 3.8 2.5

Jun 2016

7.6 5.1 4.2 2.5

Jul 2016

6.4 5.1 4.2 2.5

Aug 2016

7.4 5.0 4.2 2.6

Sep 2016

8.5 5.2 4.2 2.5

Oct 2016

7.6 5.5 3.8 2.6

Nov 2016

7.8 4.9 3.9 2.4

Dec 2016

7.6 5.1 3.8 2.5

Jan 2017

7.3 5.2 3.8 2.5

Feb 2017

7.6 4.9 4.0 2.4

Mar 2017

6.6 4.9 3.7 2.5

Apr 2017

6.5 4.6 3.7 2.4

May 2017

6.2 4.7 4.0 2.3

Jun 2017

6.5 4.6 3.8 2.3

Jul 2017

7.0 4.5 3.7 2.3

Aug 2017

6.2 5.0 3.8 2.4

Sep 2017

6.7 4.3 3.6 2.2

Oct 2017

6.1 4.3 3.6 2.0

Nov 2017

5.2 4.3 3.6 2.1

Dec 2017

6.3 4.2 3.6 2.1

Jan 2018

5.4 4.5 3.4 2.1

Feb 2018

5.7 4.4 3.5 2.3

Mar 2018

5.5 4.3 3.6 2.2

Apr 2018

5.9 4.3 3.5 2.1

May 2018

5.4 3.9 3.2 2.0

Jun 2018

5.5 4.2 3.3 2.3

Jul 2018

5.1 4.0 3.2 2.2

Aug 2018

5.7 3.9 3.5 2.1

For people with some college or an associate degree, the unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in August 2018 and 3.8 percent a year earlier.

Among workers age 25 and older who graduated high school but did not attend college, the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in August 2018, down from 5.0 percent a year earlier.

For workers with less than a high school diploma, the unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in August 2018 and 6.2 percent in August 2017.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see "The Employment Situation — August 2018". We also have more charts on unemployment and the labor force.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Unemployment rate 2.1 percent for college grads, 3.9 percent for high school grads in August 2018 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/unemployment-rate-2-1-percent-for-college-grads-3-9-percent-for-high-school-grads-in-august-2018.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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