Employment Projections
April 2017
www.bls.gov
More education: Lower unemployment, higher earnings
including age, employment status, and other
characteristics.
Each level of education you complete
may help you develop more skills, give you
access to higher paying occupations, and
signal that you’re able to follow through on
important tasks, such as planning ahead and
meeting deadlines, that employers value.
Other factors affecting employment and
earnings include geographic location,
experience, and hours worked. BLS data and
information can help you understand some of
these factors. For example, the Occupational
Outlook Handbook provides information on
wages, typical education requirements, and
the projected job outlook for hundreds of
occupations.
If you’re wondering whether it pays to stay in
school, take a look at data from the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): As workers’
educational attainment rises, their
unemployment rates decrease and earnings
increase.
As the chart shows, workers age 25 and
over who have less education than a high
school diploma had the highest
unemployment rate (7.4 percent) and lowest
median weekly earnings ($504) in 2016
among those at all education levels. Workers
with graduate degrees had the lowest
unemployment rates and highest earnings.
These data come from the BLS Current
Population Survey, a monthly survey that
collects information about the labor force,
Unemployment rates and earnings by educational attainment, 2016
Unemployment rate (%)
Doctoral degree
1.6
Professional degree
1.6
Master's degree
Bachelor's degree
Associate's degree
Some college, no degree
High school diploma
Median usual weekly earnings ($)
1,664
1,745
1,380
2.4
1,156
2.7
819
3.6
756
4.4
692
5.2
Less than a high school diploma
7.4
All workers: 4.0%
504
All workers: $885
Note: Data are for persons age 25 and over. Earnings are for full-time wage and salary workers.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.
Office of Employment Projections • [email protected] • www.bls.gov/emp • 202-691-5700