More Evidence that Higher Education Matters

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, revealed that people aged 23 to 26 with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher had lower unemployment rates than their peers who had not earned a college degree. In general, those aged 23 to 26 during the 2003-11 period with at least a college degree had an average unemployment rate that were just 41% of the average for those who had only a high school diplomat and 55% of that for those who had some college or an associate degree.

TableBLSLongitudinalStudy1997

This data argues that completion of a college degree within 4-6 years markedly improves one’s prospects of employment. This data can be used by a range of offices from Admissions to Advising to build a stronger framework for encouraging persistence and degree attainment in a timely fashion.