The .gov means it's official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information,
make sure you're on a federal government site.
The site is secure. The
https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any
information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
77.6 percent of 2017 bachelor's degree recipients were employed in October 2017
May 24, 2018
There were 2.0 million people ages 20 to 29 who earned college degrees between January and October 2017. About 1.2 million of these recent degree recipients earned a bachelor’s degree, 442,000 earned an advanced degree, and 378,000 earned an associate degree. Among recent bachelor’s degree recipients, 77.6 percent were employed in October 2017.
Employment–population ratios for recent college degree recipients ages 20 to 29, by degree type, October 2007–October 2017
Year
Associate degree
Bachelor's degree
Advanced degree
2007
80.0%
77.6%
90.3%
2008
74.9
77.7
79.4
2009
69.3
68.8
80.8
2010
68.6
70.1
79.5
2011
77.5
72.5
83.2
2012
74.4
73.1
74.3
2013
73.7
72.6
78.0
2014
72.9
70.6
81.2
2015
65.5
76.7
79.3
2016
73.3
70.9
79.8
2017
79.8
77.6
77.5
The employment–population ratios were similar in October 2017 among all three groups of degree recipients. Among recent associate degree recipients, 79.8 percent were employed in October 2017. Among recent advanced degree recipients, 77.5 percent were employed.
These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see “College Enrollment and Work Activity of Recent High School and College Graduates — 2017” (HTML) (PDF). Advanced degrees include master’s, professional, or doctoral degree.
United States Department of Labor
