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Unemployment rates by educational attainment, October 2014

November 12, 2014

In October 2014, the unemployment rate edged down to 5.8 percent. For those 25 years and older with a bachelor's degree or more education, the unemployment rate was 3.1 percent, down from 3.8 percent in October 2013. For those with some college or an associate degree, the unemployment rate was 4.8 percent, down from 6.3 percent the previous year.

Unemployment rates, 25 years and older, by educational attainment, October 2008–October 2014, seasonally adjusted
Month Less than a high school diploma High school graduates, no college Some college or associate degree Bachelor's degree and higher

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

15.2 10.2 8.6 4.9

Feb 2010

15.8 10.7 8.1 5.0

Mar 2010

14.8 11.0 8.4 4.9

Apr 2010

14.7 10.7 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 4.6

Aug 2010

14.1 10.0 8.7 4.6

Sep 2010

15.6 9.7 8.9 4.5

Oct 2010

15.0 9.9 8.2 4.6

Nov 2010

15.5 10.0 8.6 5.0

Dec 2010

14.9 9.8 8.1 4.7

Jan 2011

14.3 9.5 8.1 4.3

Feb 2011

14.0 9.6 7.9 4.3

Mar 2011

14.0 9.6 7.6 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 9.9 8.3 4.3

Jul 2011

14.5 9.2 8.3 4.2

Aug 2011

14.2 9.3 8.3 4.2

Sep 2011

14.2 9.4 8.5 4.2

Oct 2011

13.5 9.5 8.1 4.3

Nov 2011

12.9 8.8 7.7 4.4

Dec 2011

13.6 8.7 7.6 4.1

Jan 2012

12.9 8.4 7.2 4.3

Feb 2012

13.1 8.3 7.3 4.2

Mar 2012

12.8 8.0 7.6 4.2

Apr 2012

12.5 8.0 7.6 4.0

May 2012

13.0 8.3 7.7 3.9

Jun 2012

12.6 8.4 7.2 4.1

Jul 2012

12.5 8.6 7.2 4.1

Aug 2012

11.9 8.7 6.7 4.1

Sep 2012

11.5 8.5 6.6 4.0

Oct 2012

12.1 8.3 6.8 3.7

Nov 2012

12.0 8.1 6.5 3.9

Dec 2012

11.6 8.1 6.9 4.0

Jan 2013

12.0 8.1 7.0 3.8

Feb 2013

11.2 7.9 6.7 3.9

Mar 2013

11.1 7.6 6.4 3.8

Apr 2013

11.5 7.5 6.3 3.9

May 2013

11.0 7.4 6.5 3.8

Jun 2013

10.7 7.6 6.3 3.9

Jul 2013

10.9 7.6 6.0 3.8

Aug 2013

11.3 7.5 6.1 3.5

Sep 2013

10.4 7.5 6.1 3.7

Oct 2013

10.8 7.3 6.3 3.8

Nov 2013

10.6 7.3 6.4 3.4

Dec 2013

9.8 7.1 6.1 3.3

Jan 2014

9.6 6.5 6.0 3.2

Feb 2014

9.8 6.4 6.2 3.4

Mar 2014

9.6 6.3 6.1 3.4

Apr 2014

8.9 6.3 5.7 3.3

May 2014

9.1 6.5 5.5 3.2

Jun 2014

9.1 5.8 5.0 3.3

Jul 2014

9.6 6.1 5.3 3.1

Aug 2014

9.1 6.2 5.4 3.2

Sep 2014

8.4 5.3 5.4 2.9

Oct 2014

7.9 5.7 4.8 3.1

Among workers 25 years and older who graduated high school but did not attend college, the unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in October 2014, down from 7.3 percent in October 2013. For workers with less than a high school diploma, the unemployment rate was 7.9 percent in October, down from 10.8 percent the previous year.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see "The Employment Situation — October 2014" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL‑14‑2037. More charts featuring Current Population Survey data can be found in Charting the labor market: Data from the Current Population Survey (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Unemployment rates by educational attainment, October 2014 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2014/ted_20141112.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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