We characterize the labor market si

We characterize the labor market situation for recent college
graduates by looking at three possible labor market outcomes
for each graduate: unemployed, employed in a job where a
bachelor’s degree is required, and employed in a job where a
bachelor’s degree is not required. We then identify the share
of recent college graduates in each of the thirteen majors that
has experienced each of these outcomes (Chart 7). We find
that unemployment rates across majors range from 3 percent
to 8 percent. The two majors with the lowest unemployment
rates are health majors, at 3 percent, and education majors, at
just under 4 percent. Relatively low unemployment rates for
these majors likely reflect the stability of the education and
health sectors, which grew before, during, and after the Great
Recession and thus have tended to provide a growing number
of jobs during this period. At the other end of the spectrum, the
unemployment rate for architecture and construction majors
was 8 percent—a finding consistent with the lack of jobs in
housing-related sectors of the economy following the housing
bust. Liberal arts and social sciences majors also tended to have
relatively high unemployment rates, at 7 to 8 percent.
Percentage Percentage Percentage Leisure and
hospitality
Agriculture and
natural resources
Technologies
Communications
Liberal arts
Business
Social sciences
Sciences
Architecture and
construction
Math and
computers
Health
Education
Engineering
Chart 7
Employment Outcomes for Recent College Graduates
by Major, 2009-11
Percentage in jobs where a bachelor's degree is not required
Percentage in jobs where a bachelor's degree is required
Percentage unemployed
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of
Labor, O*NET.
Notes: Recent college graduates are those aged 22 to 27 with a bachelor’s degree or
higher. All gures exclude those currently enrolled in school. Because of rounding,
gures in each bar may not sum to 100.