The Jobless Rate for Community-College Graduates Is Also Low MAY 29, 2014 David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt Continue reading the main storyShare This Page EMAIL FACEBOOK TWITTER SAVE MORE The federal government’s main educational-attainment categories are fairly blunt. In particular, the “some college” category includes a wide array of people: Those who have dropped out of college without earning any degree, those who have earned a two-year degree meant to lead directly to a job (such as in nursing) and those who have earned an academic two-year degree that is often a first step toward a bachelor’s degree. If you want to understand how successful community colleges are, to take just one example, you need to know how well someone with a two-year degree fares in the job market. Fortunately, in a series of tables that aren’t on its website but are available upon request, the Bureau of Labor Statistics does distinguish among the different versions of “some college.” (It would be even better if the bureau made this data easily available to the public.) Continue reading the main story RELATED COVERAGE Graduates before the start of the 182nd commencement exercises at New York University, which were held at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx last Wednesday.Dollars and Diplomas: The Value of College: It’s Not Just CorrelationMAY 27, 2014 The singer Jill Scott, who was being given an honorary doctorate, at graduation ceremonies at Temple University in Philadelphia this month. The pay disparity between those with college degrees and those without continues to grow.Everyday Economics: Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data SayMAY 27, 2014 The group with the highest jobless rate, not surprisingly, is people who have attended some college classes without earning any degree. Their jobless rate is only slightly lower than that of high school graduates who have never attended college. Continue reading the main story Unemployment Rates, by Educational Attainment No H.S. diploma H.S. diploma Some college, no degree 2-year degree, occupational 2-year degree, academic Bachelors Post-graduate 11.5% 7.4% 6.6% 4.0% 4.8% 3.4% 2.7% Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Labels reflect highest level of education. High school diploma, for instance, excludes high-school graduates who have received any college credits. By comparison, people who have earned two-year degrees have substantially lower jobless rates than high school dropouts. And perhaps the most intriguing differences are between the two kinds of community-college graduates: those with an occupational degree and those with an academic degree. An occupational degree is one “for which the primary purpose is gainful employment and career development,” according to the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training. People who earn such degrees become nurses, firefighting supervisors, pilots, detectives, dental hygenists and nuclear and electric technicians, among other things. CONTINUE READING THE MAIN STORY 11 COMMENTS Continue reading the main story RECENT COMMENTS WXSWIAF 3 June 2014 Community colleges can support first-generation college students with proven strategies that effectively reduce the dropout rate and... Gwyan Rhabyt 2 June 2014 Can we see mean (or better yet median) income for each of these categories? Is a 2-year occupational degree a fast track to a dead end... Michael Tesfaye 2 June 2014 How about recent college graduate? You are lumping together recent graduates with those who have been in the job market before the... SEE ALL COMMENTS WRITE A COMMENT Their unemployment rates are also noticeably lower than those for people with academic two-year degrees (which are intended to help people transfer to a four-year college). The overall unemployment rate for people with occupational two-year degrees was 4 percent in April, compared with 4.8 percent for holders of academic two-year degrees. Does this mean occupational degrees are a better bet than academic degrees? Not necessarily. The most valuable aspect of a two-year academic degree is the path it can provide to a four-year degree. The jobless rate for people with bachelor’s degrees is even lower: 3.1 percent. And the pay of people with four-year degrees has fared better over the past decade than the pay of people with two-year degrees. The problem with many two-year academic programs is their sky-high dropout rates. The overall lesson for people looking at two-year colleges is the same as for those looking at four-year colleges: If you start, make sure you have a plan for finishing. The Upshot provides news, analysis and graphics about politics, policy and everyday life. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 00:57:17 +0000
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