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Unemployment rate 3.7 percent for college grads, 6.7 percent for high school grads in March 2021

April 07, 2021

The unemployment rate edged down to 6.0 percent in March 2021. The rate is down considerably from its recent high in April 2020 but is 2.5 percentage points higher than before the pandemic in February 2020. For those with a bachelor’s degree and higher, the unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in March, down from a high of 8.4 percent in April 2020.

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

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

9.4 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 6.2 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 5.7 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

8.6 5.3 4.8 2.4

Apr 2015

8.4 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 5.5 4.3 2.4

Sep 2015

7.9 5.3 4.3 2.5

Oct 2015

7.6 5.2 4.4 2.5

Nov 2015

6.8 5.4 4.4 2.5

Dec 2015

6.4 5.6 4.1 2.5

Jan 2016

7.1 5.1 4.3 2.5

Feb 2016

7.0 5.1 4.3 2.5

Mar 2016

7.3 5.3 4.1 2.6

Apr 2016

7.6 5.5 4.2 2.5

May 2016

7.4 5.1 3.9 2.5

Jun 2016

7.6 5.1 4.1 2.5

Jul 2016

6.5 5.1 4.2 2.4

Aug 2016

7.4 5.0 4.2 2.6

Sep 2016

8.7 5.2 4.2 2.5

Oct 2016

7.5 5.5 3.9 2.6

Nov 2016

7.9 5.0 3.9 2.4

Dec 2016

7.5 5.1 3.8 2.5

Jan 2017

7.4 5.2 3.8 2.5

Feb 2017

7.7 4.8 4.0 2.4

Mar 2017

6.5 4.8 3.6 2.4

Apr 2017

6.4 4.6 3.7 2.5

May 2017

6.2 4.8 4.1 2.4

Jun 2017

6.5 4.6 3.7 2.3

Jul 2017

7.1 4.5 3.7 2.3

Aug 2017

6.1 5.1 3.7 2.4

Sep 2017

6.9 4.4 3.6 2.3

Oct 2017

6.0 4.3 3.7 2.1

Nov 2017

5.2 4.4 3.7 2.1

Dec 2017

6.3 4.2 3.6 2.2

Jan 2018

5.5 4.4 3.4 2.1

Feb 2018

5.7 4.3 3.5 2.2

Mar 2018

5.4 4.2 3.5 2.2

Apr 2018

5.8 4.3 3.4 2.1

May 2018

5.3 4.0 3.3 2.1

Jun 2018

5.5 4.2 3.3 2.3

Jul 2018

5.0 4.1 3.1 2.2

Aug 2018

5.6 3.9 3.5 2.0

Sep 2018

5.8 3.8 3.2 2.0

Oct 2018

6.0 4.1 3.1 2.0

Nov 2018

5.7 3.6 3.2 2.2

Dec 2018

5.9 3.8 3.4 2.2

Jan 2019

5.8 3.6 3.4 2.4

Feb 2019

5.4 3.6 3.1 2.2

Mar 2019

5.8 3.6 3.3 2.0

Apr 2019

5.3 3.5 3.1 2.1

May 2019

5.2 3.6 2.8 2.2

Jun 2019

5.3 4.0 3.0 2.1

Jul 2019

5.0 3.6 3.1 2.2

Aug 2019

5.4 3.6 3.0 2.1

Sep 2019

5.0 3.6 2.9 2.0

Oct 2019

5.7 3.8 2.9 2.1

Nov 2019

5.4 3.8 3.0 2.0

Dec 2019

5.3 3.7 2.8 1.9

Jan 2020

5.7 3.7 2.7 2.0

Feb 2020

5.8 3.5 3.0 1.9

Mar 2020

6.9 4.3 3.7 2.5

Apr 2020

21.0 17.3 15.0 8.4

May 2020

19.6 15.3 13.2 7.4

Jun 2020

16.4 12.2 10.9 6.9

Jul 2020

15.1 10.8 9.9 6.7

Aug 2020

12.6 9.8 8.0 5.3

Sep 2020

10.7 9.0 8.1 4.7

Oct 2020

9.9 8.1 6.6 4.2

Nov 2020

9.2 7.8 6.3 4.2

Dec 2020

9.8 7.8 6.3 3.8

Jan 2021

9.1 7.1 6.2 4.0

Feb 2021

10.1 7.2 5.9 3.8

Mar 2021

8.2 6.7 5.9 3.7

The unemployment rate for those with some college or an associate degree was 5.9 percent in March 2021, down from a high of 15.0 percent in April 2020. For high school graduates with no college, the unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in March 2021, down from a high of 17.3 percent in April 2020. For those without a high school diploma, the unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in March 2021, down from a high of 21.0 percent in April 2020.

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "The Employment Situation — March 2021" and the charts on employment and unemployment.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Unemployment rate 3.7 percent for college grads, 6.7 percent for high school grads in March 2021 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/unemployment-rate-3-7-percent-for-college-grads-6-7-percent-for-high-school-grads-in-march-2021.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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