College graduates have a lower unemployment rate than do high school graduates and people who drop out of college before finishing. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2013 that the overall unemployment rate for college graduates was 4.5 percent, with median weekly earnings of $1,066. High school graduates, by contrast, had an unemployment rate of 8.3 percent, while students who attended college but dropped out were unemployed at a rate of 7.7 percent.
While many college graduates obtain jobs in their field, not all people with a degree pursue the field in which they majored, according to a 2012 study by Rutgers University's John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. A 2013 study by McKinsey and Company also found that 45 percent of college graduates have jobs that don't require college degrees. The same study showed that 26 percent of 2006 through 2011 college graduates are underemployed in part-time jobs. Students who major in the arts and humanities are more likely to end up with jobs that don't require them to have a college degree, with the McKinsey and Company study finding that only 43 percent of art graduates and 54 percent of literature graduates work in jobs that require a degree. 75 percent of students who graduate with math, engineering and computer science degrees, by contrast, have jobs that require a degree.
Recent college graduates are more likely to have trouble finding a job than college graduates in general are. In 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 2011 college graduates had an unemployment rate of 13 percent. 2009 graduates fared the worst, with an unemployment rate of 17.6 percent and a male unemployment rate of 26.6 percent. In 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the overall unemployment rate of college graduates as 4.6 percent. Recent graduates were predominately employed in education, health care and business services.
The major a college student chooses can change his unemployment risk. McKinsey and Company reports that students with degrees in fields related to science, technology, engineering and math are more likely to be employed than students with degrees in the humanities are, and a 2013 National Association of Colleges and Employers study found that these degrees also yield the highest incomes. Students graduating with degrees in engineering have starting salaries ranging from about $62,000 to $93,500, depending upon the specific type of engineering that students choose. These areas of expertise are in high demand, and a four-year degree often provides sufficient preparation to get entry-level jobs in these fields, according to a 2013 Georgetown University report. Degrees such as philosophy, literature and performing arts, however, often require that students attend graduate school to get a job in their field.