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Unemployment rate 2.4 percent for college grads, 5.1 percent for high school grads in August 2017

September 07, 2017

The unemployment rate in August 2017 was 4.4 percent, little changed from July. After declining earlier in the year, the unemployment rate has been either 4.3 or 4.4 percent since April. Among people age 25 and older with a bachelor's degree or more education, the unemployment rate was 2.4 percent in August 2017.

 

 

Unemployment rates for people 25 years and older by educational attainment, August 1997 to August 2017, 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 1997

7.6% 4.2% 3.2% 2.1%

Sep 1997

8.0 4.1 3.3 2.1

Oct 1997

7.8 4.1 2.9 1.9

Nov 1997

7.4 3.8 3.1 1.7

Dec 1997

7.5 4.0 3.3 1.8

Jan 1998

7.0 4.0 3.2 1.9

Feb 1998

7.1 4.0 3.1 1.9

Mar 1998

7.1 4.2 3.2 1.8

Apr 1998

7.2 3.9 2.7 1.7

May 1998

7.0 3.7 3.2 1.7

Jun 1998

7.2 4.0 2.8 1.7

Jul 1998

7.2 4.1 2.9 1.7

Aug 1998

7.1 3.9 2.7 1.8

Sep 1998

6.9 4.1 3.0 1.7

Oct 1998

6.9 4.0 3.0 1.9

Nov 1998

7.1 3.9 2.9 1.9

Dec 1998

6.9 3.8 2.9 1.8

Jan 1999

7.1 3.5 2.9 1.8

Feb 1999

7.5 3.5 3.1 1.9

Mar 1999

6.1 3.5 2.9 1.9

Apr 1999

6.9 3.5 3.0 2.0

May 1999

6.8 3.5 2.9 1.9

Jun 1999

6.8 3.8 2.4 2.0

Jul 1999

6.9 3.6 3.0 1.8

Aug 1999

7.1 3.5 3.0 1.6

Sep 1999

6.9 3.7 2.7 1.7

Oct 1999

6.6 3.4 2.7 1.7

Nov 1999

6.4 3.2 2.7 1.7

Dec 1999

5.8 3.5 2.5 1.7

Jan 2000

6.4 3.4 2.6 1.8

Feb 2000

6.0 3.4 3.0 1.6

Mar 2000

6.6 3.3 2.8 1.7

Apr 2000

6.2 3.3 2.6 1.5

May 2000

6.9 3.4 2.6 1.6

Jun 2000

6.3 3.4 2.7 1.6

Jul 2000

6.4 3.4 2.8 1.7

Aug 2000

6.2 3.7 2.8 1.9

Sep 2000

6.2 3.5 2.6 1.9

Oct 2000

6.4 3.6 2.4 1.6

Nov 2000

6.5 3.5 2.6 1.5

Dec 2000

5.9 3.5 2.7 1.5

Jan 2001

6.7 3.8 3.0 1.6

Feb 2001

7.5 3.7 2.8 1.6

Mar 2001

6.8 3.8 2.7 2.0

Apr 2001

6.8 3.7 2.9 2.1

May 2001

6.6 3.9 3.0 2.1

Jun 2001

6.9 3.8 3.0 2.2

Jul 2001

6.8 4.1 3.0 2.2

Aug 2001

7.2 4.4 3.3 2.3

Sep 2001

7.7 4.4 3.4 2.5

Oct 2001

7.6 4.7 4.1 2.6

Nov 2001

8.0 5.0 4.2 2.9

Dec 2001

8.3 4.9 4.2 3.0

Jan 2002

8.2 5.3 4.3 2.9

Feb 2002

8.3 5.3 4.2 2.9

Mar 2002

8.1 5.4 4.3 2.8

Apr 2002

9.1 5.5 4.6 2.9

May 2002

8.3 5.5 4.8 2.9

Jun 2002

7.8 5.4 4.6 3.0

Jul 2002

8.6 5.1 4.4 3.0

Aug 2002

8.4 5.2 4.4 2.8

Sep 2002

7.8 5.0 4.6 2.9

Oct 2002

8.7 4.9 4.6 3.0

Nov 2002

9.0 5.2 4.7 2.9

Dec 2002

8.9 5.3 4.9 2.9

Jan 2003

8.8 5.2 4.7 3.0

Feb 2003

8.9 5.4 4.7 3.0

Mar 2003

8.6 5.5 4.8 3.1

Apr 2003

8.5 5.7 4.8 3.0

May 2003

9.0 5.6 4.9 3.0

Jun 2003

9.4 5.7 4.9 3.1

Jul 2003

8.8 5.4 5.0 3.1

Aug 2003

9.3 5.4 4.9 3.2

Sep 2003

8.6 5.3 4.9 3.2

Oct 2003

9.0 5.5 4.8 3.1

Nov 2003

8.7 5.3 4.7 3.1

Dec 2003

7.9 5.4 4.4 3.0

Jan 2004

9.1 4.9 4.5 2.9

Feb 2004

8.6 5.0 4.3 2.9

Mar 2004

8.8 5.3 4.7 2.9

Apr 2004

8.6 5.3 4.1 2.9

May 2004

8.8 5.1 4.0 2.9

Jun 2004

8.7 5.2 4.1 2.7

Jul 2004

8.2 5.0 4.2 2.6

Aug 2004

8.1 4.9 4.1 2.7

Sep 2004

8.7 4.7 4.1 2.6

Oct 2004

8.4 4.8 4.2 2.5

Nov 2004

8.0 4.8 4.3 2.5

Dec 2004

8.1 4.8 4.2 2.5

Jan 2005

7.7 4.7 4.1 2.4

Feb 2005

7.8 4.9 4.2 2.4

Mar 2005

7.8 4.7 3.9 2.4

Apr 2005

8.2 4.4 3.9 2.4

May 2005

7.8 4.5 3.9 2.4

Jun 2005

6.9 4.8 3.9 2.3

Jul 2005

7.5 4.8 3.7 2.3

Aug 2005

7.5 4.7 3.5 2.1

Sep 2005

8.2 4.9 3.7 2.3

Oct 2005

7.3 4.8 3.8 2.3

Nov 2005

7.4 4.8 3.9 2.3

Dec 2005

7.4 4.5 3.9 2.1

Jan 2006

7.0 4.4 3.6 2.1

Feb 2006

7.1 4.4 3.6 2.2

Mar 2006

6.9 4.1 3.7 2.2

Apr 2006

6.9 4.4 3.8 2.2

May 2006

7.0 4.3 3.8 2.1

Jun 2006

7.1 4.1 3.5 2.1

Jul 2006

7.1 4.5 3.6 2.0

Aug 2006

6.8 4.6 3.5 1.8

Sep 2006

6.4 4.1 3.6 2.1

Oct 2006

5.8 4.1 3.4 1.9

Nov 2006

6.6 4.3 3.4 1.8

Dec 2006

6.7 4.3 3.4 1.8

Jan 2007

6.9 4.3 3.8 2.1

Feb 2007

7.3 4.3 3.6 1.9

Mar 2007

6.9 4.0 3.6 1.8

Apr 2007

7.1 4.1 3.6 1.9

May 2007

6.6 4.4 3.4 2.0

Jun 2007

6.7 4.1 3.5 2.0

Jul 2007

7.3 4.6 3.6 2.1

Aug 2007

6.5 4.4 3.6 2.1

Sep 2007

7.6 4.5 3.4 2.0

Oct 2007

7.3 4.6 3.5 2.1

Nov 2007

7.7 4.5 3.3 2.2

Dec 2007

7.7 4.7 3.8 2.1

Jan 2008

7.7 4.7 3.7 2.1

Feb 2008

7.4 4.7 3.8 2.0

Mar 2008

8.4 5.1 3.9 2.1

Apr 2008

7.7 5.0 4.0 2.1

May 2008

8.1 5.0 4.3 2.2

Jun 2008

8.7 5.1 4.3 2.4

Jul 2008

8.6 5.4 4.6 2.5

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 8.2 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

11.5 7.4 6.3 3.9

May 2013

10.9 7.4 6.5 3.9

Jun 2013

10.7 7.7 6.5 3.8

Jul 2013

10.7 7.5 6.1 3.8

Aug 2013

11.1 7.4 6.1 3.4

Sep 2013

10.6 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

10.0 7.0 6.2 3.3

Jan 2014

9.6 6.5 5.8 3.3

Feb 2014

9.9 6.4 6.0 3.4

Mar 2014

9.4 6.3 6.0 3.4

Apr 2014

8.6 6.2 5.7 3.3

May 2014

9.1 6.5 5.6 3.2

Jun 2014

9.1 5.9 5.2 3.3

Jul 2014

9.4 6.1 5.3 3.1

Aug 2014

9.1 6.2 5.3 3.2

Sep 2014

8.3 5.3 5.4 2.9

Oct 2014

8.0 5.7 4.9 3.0

Nov 2014

8.7 5.7 4.9 3.2

Dec 2014

8.8 5.2 5.0 2.8

Jan 2015

8.5 5.5 5.2 2.8

Feb 2015

8.3 5.4 5.0 2.7

Mar 2015

8.5 5.3 4.8 2.4

Apr 2015

8.4 5.4 4.7 2.7

May 2015

8.6 5.8 4.4 2.8

Jun 2015

8.1 5.4 4.2 2.5

Jul 2015

8.2 5.5 4.4 2.5

Aug 2015

7.7 5.5 4.3 2.4

Sep 2015

7.8 5.2 4.2 2.5

Oct 2015

7.4 5.2 4.4 2.5

Nov 2015

6.9 5.4 4.4 2.5

Dec 2015

6.7 5.5 4.2 2.5

Jan 2016

7.4 5.3 4.2 2.5

Feb 2016

7.3 5.3 4.2 2.5

Mar 2016

7.4 5.4 4.1 2.6

Apr 2016

7.5 5.4 4.1 2.4

May 2016

7.2 5.1 3.8 2.4

Jun 2016

7.5 5.1 4.2 2.6

Jul 2016

6.3 5.0 4.2 2.5

Aug 2016

7.3 5.1 4.2 2.7

Sep 2016

8.5 5.2 4.2 2.5

Oct 2016

7.4 5.5 3.8 2.6

Nov 2016

7.9 4.9 3.9 2.3

Dec 2016

7.9 5.1 3.8 2.5

Jan 2017

7.7 5.3 3.8 2.5

Feb 2017

7.9 5.0 4.0 2.4

Mar 2017

6.8 4.9 3.7 2.5

Apr 2017

6.5 4.6 3.7 2.4

May 2017

6.1 4.7 4.0 2.3

Jun 2017

6.4 4.6 3.8 2.4

Jul 2017

6.9 4.5 3.7 2.4

Aug 2017

6.0 5.1 3.8 2.4

For people with some college or an associate degree, the unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in August 2017 and 4.2 percent a year earlier.

Among workers age 25 and older who graduated high school but did not attend college, the unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in August 2017, the same as a year earlier.

For workers with less than a high school diploma, the unemployment rate was 6.0 percent in August 2017, down from 7.3 percent in August 2016.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see "The Employment Situation — August 2017" (HTML) (PDF). Also see Charts related to the latest "The Employment Situation" news release.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Unemployment rate 2.4 percent for college grads, 5.1 percent for high school grads in August 2017 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/unemployment-rate-2-4-percent-for-college-grads-5-1-percent-for-high-school-grads-in-august-2017.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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