Unemployment rate for college graduates: Key statistics [2025]

2.5% — that's the unemployment rate for college graduates aged 25 and older in the United States today.

Compare that to 4.2% for high school graduates and 6.2% for those without at least a high school diploma, and the value of higher education becomes crystal clear.

But this rosy picture hides a troubling reality: recent graduates aged 22-27 face unemployment rates more than double that of their experienced peers, with some fields seeing rates as high as 7.5%.

The path from graduation to gainful employment has become increasingly uncertain. While seasoned professionals with degrees enjoy near-record low unemployment, new graduates are navigating one of the toughest entry-level job markets in over a decade, complicated by AI automation, skills mismatches, and regional disparities.

We've collected comprehensive graduate unemployment statistics to help you understand the full picture. How does education level truly impact employment prospects? Which fields offer the best outcomes? And what's driving the growing gap between recent graduates and established professionals?

Let's dive in!

Key statistics (Top picks)

• College graduates aged 25+ have an unemployment rate of just 2.5%, roughly half that of high school graduates (4.2%) and dramatically lower than those without a diploma (6.2%).
• Recent graduates aged 22-27 face 5.3% unemployment, more than double the rate for all college graduates and higher than the overall U.S. labor force rate of 4.0%.
• Only 27% of bachelor's degree holders work in jobs that closely match their major, with 40-45% of graduates reporting a complete mismatch between their field of study and their career.
• Computer Science and Computer Engineering graduates face unexpectedly high unemployment at 6.1% and 7.5% respectively, challenging assumptions about STEM superiority in the job market.
• Female recent graduates experience 16.1% unemployment compared to 13.8% for male graduates, though the gender gap narrows significantly among experienced professionals.
• Only 13% of graduates are ready to start jobs immediately upon graduation, according to industry surveys, highlighting a critical skills mismatch between education and employer needs.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, New York Fed, St. Louis Fed, Bureau of Labor Statistics, BCG Global, Mercatus Center.

What is the unemployment rate, and how is it measured for graduates?

By standard economics, the unemployment rate is calculated as (unemployed ÷ labor force) × 100. An individual is "unemployed" if they are jobless, actively looking for work in the past four weeks, and available to take a job.

The labor force includes both employed and unemployed individuals. Agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) use the Current Population Survey (CPS) to tabulate unemployment by education level. Survey respondents report their highest degree or schooling, allowing BLS to compute separate unemployment rates for each attainment group, such as "bachelor's degree and higher" versus "some college" versus "high school only."

BLS notes its published rates are for people aged 25 and older and are broken out by highest completed education. Official sources stress that the CPS-based rate is not a direct measure of "graduate unemployment" but is the standard gauge of joblessness by degree level.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What is the current unemployment rate for college graduates?

College graduates enjoy near-record low unemployment compared to the general workforce. But the picture varies sharply between established professionals and those fresh out of school.

• For adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor's degree or higher, unemployment hovers around just 2.5% as of 2024, far below the overall U.S. rate of 3.3% and lower than rates for those with less education.
• By mid-2025, this figure remained stable at 2.4-2.7%, marking near all-time lows for college-educated workers.
• Recent graduates have even higher unemployment rates. A New York Fed analysis found 5.3% unemployment for U.S. college graduates aged 22-27 in Q2 2025, compared to 4.0% for the overall labor force.
• A St. Louis Fed study similarly reports young graduates (23-27) at 4.59% unemployment in 2025, up from 3.25% in 2019.
• Barring the COVID-19 disruption, 2025 represents one of the toughest job markets for the post-college crowd in over a decade.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics,New York Fed,St. Louis Fed,Cherokee Phoenix.

How does tertiary education affect employment?

A college degree dramatically reduces unemployment risk and opens doors to better opportunities. The advantages span unemployment rates, employment stability, earnings, and career progression.

Far lower unemployment

• In the U.S., BLS reports an unemployment rate of 2.5% for bachelor's holders (25+) versus 4.2% for high-school graduates and 6.2% for those without a high school diploma. This means college grads' unemployment rate is roughly half that of high school graduates.
• OECD data shows that only 25% of unemployed tertiary graduates have been jobless for 12 months or longer, compared to 36% of those without a high-school diploma, reflecting more stable employment for the college-educated.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, OECD.

Higher employment rates

• OECD data show approximately 86% of adults with a bachelor's degree (25-64) are employed, compared to about 73-80% for those with only secondary or vocational schooling.
• In the EU, 2024 employment for recent tertiary graduates was 82.3%, versus only 72% for upper-secondary VET graduates and even lower for non-graduates. The "college premium" in employment is often on the order of 10-15 percentage points.

Sources: OECD, Eurostat.

Earnings and job quality

• U.S. median weekly wages are approximately $1,543 for bachelor's holders versus $930 for high school graduates—about 66% higher.
• OECD estimates tertiary-educated workers earn 50-60% more on average than those with only secondary education.
• Field of study matters: OECD finds that ICT and engineering graduates have the highest employment rates (around 90%), whereas arts and humanities graduates are lowest (around 84%).
• Degree-holders are more often in professional and managerial jobs with benefits, and less often in part-time or precarious work.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics,OECD,OECD.

How have graduate unemployment rates evolved over the past decade?

Graduate unemployment has followed a clear trajectory over the past decade: steady improvement through the 2010s, a sharp COVID shock, and then an uneven recovery that has left recent graduates facing renewed challenges.

2010s trend

• Over the 2010s expansion, college-graduate unemployment steadily declined to record lows.
• In the U.S., the 25+ bachelor's unemployment rate fell from around 4.7% (post-2009) down to 2.1% by 2018.
• The 2020 COVID downturn briefly raised unemployment for all, but college graduates were cushioned by stimulus and high demand in many sectors.
• Even then, the unemployment rate soared as high as 8% by 2020, according to BLS data.
• OECD countries saw similar patterns: average unemployment for tertiary-educated young adults (25-34) was about 4.9% in 2019.

Sources: College Board, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, OECD.

Post-pandemic recovery

• Following the COVID spike, unemployment rates quickly returned to pre-pandemic levels.
• By 2022-23, the jobless rate for 25- to 64-year-olds with a bachelor's degree or higher was consistently around 2%, per BLS data.
• However, recent data (2024-25) show graduates near historic lows again.
• By 2024-25, the labor market for recent college graduates (defined by the St. Louis Fed as ages 23-27 with a bachelor's degree or higher) had an unemployment rate of 4.59% (average Jan-Jul 2025).
• New York Fed analysis shows that underemployment (college graduates taking jobs that do not require a degree) has also surged, with some recent-grad cohorts exceeding 40% underemployment.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics,St. Louis Fed,St. Louis Fed.

How do graduate outcomes compare to non-graduates?

College graduates consistently outperform non-graduates across every major employment metric, including unemployment rates, earnings, and long-term career stability.

Unemployment: graduates vs non-graduates

• College graduates have far lower unemployment than people without degrees. U.S. bachelor's holders have approximately 2.6% jobless (May 2025, NSA) while high-school-only workers are around 4.2%, and "some college" (no degree) about 3.1%.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Younger graduates vs Level-3 (vocational) holders

• Comparing young graduates to those with mid-level (Level-3) qualifications (e.g., vocational A-level or associate degree), the picture is similar. In the U.S., "some college/associate degree" holders saw 3.1% unemployment versus 2.6% for bachelor's holders (May 2025).
• Any postsecondary training helps, but a full college degree still yields better outcomes than a Level-3 credential.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Long-term stability

• Globally, college-educated workers enjoy more stable careers. Among unemployed adults, only about 25% of tertiary-educated people have been jobless for 12+ months, compared to 36% for those without a high-school diploma.
• This indicates that when graduates do lose jobs, they tend to find new ones faster. OECD notes that long-term unemployment is "much lower" among those with higher education.

Source: OECD.

Who's struggling most with graduate unemployment?

Graduate unemployment doesn't affect all degree-holders equally. Gender, age, experience, and socioeconomic background all shape who faces the steepest challenges in today's job market.

Gender disparities

• In the U.S., gender differences in unemployment among recent college graduates are quite complex. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for recent bachelor's degree recipients aged 20-29 was 15.3% in October 2024.
• Broken down by gender, the data shows an unemployment rate of 13.8% for men versus 16.1% for women, meaning recent female graduates actually experienced a slightly higher jobless rate.
• OECD notes that among 25-34 year-olds, females with tertiary education fall behind males by approximately 6 percentage points in employment (much less than the approximately 25 percentage point gap at low education levels, but still notable).

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, OECD.

Age and experience

• The hardest-hit group is typically recent college grads. Early-career graduates face more volatility. For example, in 2025 U.S. graduates ages 22-27 had approximately 5.4% unemployment, more than double the approximately 2.6% for all graduates age 25+.
• St. Louis Fed data echo this: 23-27 year-olds were at 4.59% unemployment in 2025 (versus 3.25% in 2019). By contrast, older and experienced degree-holders (say mid-career 30s-50s) typically see much lower rates (often 2% or less).
• This reflects a normal "scarring" effect: breaking into the workforce is hardest immediately after graduation. The most vulnerable are younger, newer graduates, especially in a soft market.

Sources: New York Fed, St. Louis Fed.

Socioeconomic status

• Analyses also suggest that students from lower-income families tend to face persistent pay disadvantages: graduates from less-affluent backgrounds often earn less over time than their higher-income peers, in part because they may start their careers in lower-paying firms or positions.

Source: Taylor & Francis Online.

What factors are driving graduate unemployment today?

Graduate unemployment isn't random—it's shaped by field of study, skills mismatches, industry demand shifts, regional differences, and technological disruption. Understanding these drivers reveals why some graduates thrive while others struggle.

Field of study

• Typically, STEM majors see lower unemployment rates than many non-STEM fields. For example, Engineering Technologies had an unemployment rate of 1.9% while Animal and Plant Sciences was 1.0%, compared to Fine Arts at 7.0% and Sociology at 6.7%.
• That said, it's not universally true across all STEM majors. According to the New York Fed's "Outcomes by Major" dataset (latest release February 2025, based on 2023 data), Computer Science graduates (recent, age 22-27) have an unemployment rate of about 6.1%, while Computer Engineering is even higher (approximately 7.5%).
• These figures are comparable or even worse than some non-STEM fields, and suggest that some fields are more “overgraduated” relative to the number of jobs available, leaving even in-demand majors with more graduates than matching roles.

Source: New York Fed.

Underemployment by major

• The St. Louis Fed reports recent-grad underemployment (working in jobs not requiring a degree) by major: Criminal Justice (67.2%), Performing Arts (62.3%), Anthropology (55.9%) are among the highest.
• On the flip side, nursing (9.7%), computer science (16.5%), and chemical engineering (16.5%) have among the lowest underemployment.
• This suggests degree field matters greatly: some fields are more "overgraduated" for the types of jobs available, while others align more strongly with stable or in-demand roles.

Source: St. Louis Fed.

Skills mismatch & oversupply

• One root cause of graduate unemployment is the skills mismatch between what many college graduates offer and what employers actually need. Research shows that around 25% of U.S. workers may be over-skilled for their jobs, reflecting an oversupply of broadly educated graduates competing for roles with narrow, specialized skill demands.
• Moreover, many employers now favor skills-based hiring: only 13% of graduates are ready to start jobs immediately, according to Pearson Business School data, and three-quarters of U.S. employers report difficulty finding workers with the precise skills they need.
• Large-scale mapping of college curricula (via the Course-Skill Atlas) indicates that much of what is taught in higher education does not closely mirror the detailed, occupation-specific skills that jobs increasingly require.
• These trends mean that many graduates, especially those with generalist degrees, struggle to gain employment in roles that match their education, and those lacking up-to-date technical or digital competencies may be left behind entirely.

Sources: Mercatus Center, BCG Global, arXiv.

Regional variations

• Geography plays a significant role in shaping graduate labor-market outcomes.
• Data from the U.S. Economic Research Service shows that non-metropolitan (rural) counties lag metropolitan areas in educational attainment, with fewer residents holding bachelor's degrees.
• Rural college-educated workers also often earn significantly less, with median annual earnings of about $42,400 in 2023 versus $52,100 in metro areas.
• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' geographic profiles, unemployment rates for individuals aged 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher vary by region, for example, around 2.0% in the Northeast and 1.8% in the Midwest in 2022.
• Academic research on economic complexity indicates that metropolitan regions with diverse, knowledge-intensive industries, such as high-tech hubs, tend to generate more robust opportunities for skilled workers.
• Graduates in major STEM metros likely benefit from stronger demand, while those in less economically complex rural regions may face lower returns and fewer job prospects even with a college degree.

Sources: Economic Research Service, Bureau of Labor Statistics, arXiv.

Technology & automation

• Recent advances in automation and artificial intelligence are reshaping the landscape of early-career hiring in the U.S., particularly for entry-level roles. According to SignalFire, Big Tech firms cut new graduate hiring by 25% in 2024 compared to 2023, while startups saw an 11% reduction, trends they attribute in part to AI handling routine tasks.
• Tasks like data cleaning, summarization, and administrative work, which were once the core of many junior roles are increasingly automated. Research shows entry-level positions are not disappearing entirely, but being redefined: a HiBob study found only 8.7% of companies say AI has fully replaced entry-level responsibilities, although over half report that AI has replaced at least some of the tasks these roles used to handle.
• Many firms (12.5%) are redesigning early-career roles toward more strategic or technology-integrated work as a result.

Sources: Signal Fire,HiBob.

Where do recent graduates end up?

Most college graduates find their footing relatively quickly after graduation, though not always in the ways they expected. The paths they take reveal both the resilience of degree-holders and the challenges of today's labor market.

Employment vs further study

• Most graduates do find work relatively quickly. U.S. surveys show about 57.2% of new bachelor's graduates were employed full-time within six months of graduation.
• Another 5.3% typically take part-time or contract jobs soon after, while 1% choose service or go into the military.
• Roughly 20.2% of graduates choose further education (graduate or professional school) immediately.
• Only about 15% were still actively seeking work or study at six months, and just 1.3% were inactive (neither working nor looking).
• In short, almost all recent graduates are either working, in school, or job-hunting shortly after college.

Sources: NACE, NACE.

Working outside the field of study

• Many U.S. college graduates do not end up in jobs directly tied to their field of study. According to a New York Fed analysis, only about 27% of bachelor's-degree holders work in occupations that closely match their major.
• Research from the Mercatus Center finds that 45% of workers report a mismatch between their degree field and their job.
• Moreover, a cross-national academic study (including U.S. data) estimates that around 40-45% of workers are working in a different field than what they studied.
• Similarly, field-level mismatch is common: for example, only 33% of new college graduates in certain majors work in jobs that require a bachelor's, while 63% are in jobs that do not.

Sources: New York Fed, Mercatus Center, SpringerOpen, New York Fed.

What does the data from other regions say about graduate unemployment?

College graduates worldwide face far better employment prospects than their non-degree counterparts. Still, the picture varies dramatically by region, with some countries achieving near-universal graduate employment while others struggle with systemic youth joblessness.

The data reveals a clear pattern: higher education remains a powerful shield against unemployment, though economic conditions and labor market policies create striking regional differences.

OECD countries

• Across OECD nations, 86% of adults aged 25-64 with a bachelor's degree are employed, rising to 90% for master's holders and 93% for doctorate holders.
• Only about 5% of young adults with tertiary education are unemployed on average across the OECD, making college graduates the demographic with the strongest job prospects internationally.
• In almost all OECD countries, the unemployment rate for those with tertiary education sits at or below that of those with only secondary education.

Sources: OECD, OECD, OECD.

European Union

• In 2024, 82.3% of recent tertiary graduates aged 20-34 were employed across the EU, demonstrating strong market absorption of educated workers.
• The average unemployment rate for young people aged 25-34 with tertiary education was 5.2% in 2024, compared with 6.7% for those with upper secondary education and 15.2% for those with lower educational attainment.
• Some EU countries achieve exceptionally low graduate unemployment: Czechia and Poland both sit at approximately 1.4%, while Romania records 1.9%. Others struggle more, with Turkey at 9.2% and Greece at 7.3%.
• EU men tend to have slightly higher graduate employment than women, with the male graduate employment rate running 1.8 percentage points above female rates in 2024 data.

Sources: Eurostat, Publications Office of the EU, Eurostat, Eurostat.

High-performing economies

• Australia demonstrates remarkably low graduate unemployment, with only 1.7% unemployment among tertiary-educated 25-34 year-olds in 2024, achieved through strategic training and economic policies.
• In Japan, 97.3% of university graduates who sought jobs in March 2023 had an employment offer by graduation, while overall youth unemployment sat at around 2.5% in 2024.
• New Zealand shows similarly strong outcomes, with bachelor's degree holders facing an unemployment rate of just 2.9%.
• Canada presents a different picture, with Statistics Canada reporting a 5.9% unemployment rate among individuals with a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sources: OECD, Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, TheGlobalEconomy.com, Universities New Zealand, Statistics Canada.

Emerging economies under strain

• Rapid expansion of higher education in countries like China and India has created enormous job market pressures. In China, the youth unemployment rate for ages 16-24 reached 21.3% in June 2023.
• India's youth with a graduate degree faced an unemployment rate of 28.7% in 2022, according to the ILO, revealing severe graduate oversupply relative to quality job creation.
• These figures contrast sharply with more developed Asian economies like Japan and South Korea, where graduate employment systems remain robust despite demographic challenges.

Sources:Statista,International Labour Organization.

What interventions are reducing graduate unemployment?

The fight against graduate unemployment isn't hopeless. From university-led career programs to ambitious government initiatives and international benchmarks, evidence-based interventions are making measurable impacts across the globe.

Success stories reveal common threads: tight integration between education and employment, strategic policy frameworks, and accountability through outcome tracking.

University and institutional strategies

• Colleges and universities can directly transform graduate outcomes through effective career services, mandatory internships or co-op programs, and close industry partnerships that smooth the transition from classroom to workplace.
• Many institutions now track first-destination outcomes and use that data to improve programs. The U.S. National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has called on schools to survey and report detailed graduate outcomes, creating accountability for employment success.
• Evidence suggests that formal internship and co-op requirements drastically raise the odds of employment upon graduation, while curriculum reforms that embed practical skills like data analysis and communication directly reduce job-education mismatch.
• Universities that tightly integrate academic learning with real work experiences through project-based learning with companies consistently see much higher graduate employment rates.

Source: NACE.

Government policy initiatives

• Governments worldwide have launched targeted initiatives to combat youth and graduate unemployment. The EU's Youth Guarantee stands as a prominent example, ensuring that all people under 30 receive a quality offer of employment, apprenticeship, or education within four months of leaving school.
• Since its adoption in 2013 and reinforcement in 2020, the Youth Guarantee has reached tens of millions of young people and significantly cut NEET rates and youth unemployment across Europe.
• Other effective policies include wage subsidies or tax breaks for firms hiring recent graduates, expanding vocational and technical training pathways, and funding gap-year service programs that build employability.
• In the U.S., programs like the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) fund training for in-demand fields, while student loan forgiveness is increasingly tied to high-need careers.

Source:European Commission.

International targets and benchmarks

• International organizations have established concrete goals that drive down graduate joblessness through coordinated policy reform. The EU's 2021 education agenda sets a goal of 82% tertiary attainment by 2030 to ensure a skilled workforce while limiting NEETs to 9% by 2030.
• The EU's Council of Ministers also set a target employment rate of 82% for recent vocational graduates by 2025, creating accountability for both education quality and labor market integration.
• These benchmarks encourage countries to reform education and labor policies in tandem. Similarly, UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 on education and SDG 8 on decent work push nations to improve graduate employability systematically.
• Meeting these targets often requires expanding apprenticeships, launching upskilling programs like coding bootcamps, and establishing closer coordination between universities and labor-market needs.

Source:Cedefop.

Conclusion

The data reveals a paradox in today's graduate employment landscape: while experienced college graduates enjoy near-record low unemployment at 2.5%, recent graduates aged 22-27 face one of the most challenging entry-level job markets in over a decade, with unemployment rates more than double their seasoned counterparts.

This isn't a failure of higher education itself as college graduates still face half the unemployment of high school graduates and earn 50-66% more throughout their careers. Rather, it's a signal that the transition from classroom to career has fundamentally changed. With only 13% of graduates immediately job-ready, 40-45% working outside their field of study, and AI reshaping entry-level roles, the gap between academic preparation and employer needs has never been wider.

The solution lies in bridging this divide through practical, evidence-based interventions. Universities that mandate internships, integrate real-world projects, and track graduate outcomes see dramatically better employment results. Government initiatives like the EU's Youth Guarantee have successfully reached millions of young people. And institutions that embed industry-relevant skills throughout the curriculum, rather than treating career preparation as an afterthought, consistently produce graduates who thrive in today's labor market.

What this means for universities, educators, and career services:

✔ Integrate practical skills early and often through project-based learning, mandatory internships, and industry partnerships that give students real-world experience before graduation.

✔ Track and improve graduate outcomes systematically by collecting first-destination data and using it to refine programs that aren't delivering results.

✔ Embrace active learning technologies like Wooclap to build the communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills that employers consistently cite as missing in new graduates.

✔ Provide transparent career guidance by major, helping students understand field-specific employment rates, underemployment risks, and regional job market realities before they commit to a path.