Young adults with a bachelor’s degree are less likely to be unemployed than their peers with less education. This pattern holds for White, Black, and Hispanic young adults.

This indicator examines the relationships between educational attainment, employment, and race/ethnicity among young adults—individuals between the ages of 25 and 34. Most young adults in this age group have completed their formal education and are establishing themselves in a career.

Five percent of young adults ages 25–34 were unemployed in 2004 (see table 17-1). This percentage has fluctuated since 1971 due to cyclical contractions and expansions in the U.S. economy. One constant throughout this period, though, has been the relationship between unemployment and educational attainment. That is, generally speaking the more education a person attains, the less likely that person is to be unemployed. For example, 9 percent of those ages 25–34 with less than a high school diploma were unemployed in 2004, compared with 6 percent of high school completers, 5 percent of those with some college education, and 3 percent of those with a bachelor’s or higher degree.

As to the relationship between race/ethnicity and unemployment, Black adults ages 25–34 were more likely to be unemployed in 2004 than their White and Hispanic counterparts (9 vs. 4 and 6 percent, respectively). Within each racial/ethnic group, those with more education were generally less likely to be unemployed than their peers with less education.

Educational attainment and race/ethnicity were also related to rates of employment and full-time employment among young adults. Overall, those ages 25–34 with a bachelor’s or higher degree were more likely than their peers with less education to be employed and to be employed full time in 2004; a similar pattern held for those with a bachelor’s or higher degree versus those with less education within each racial/ethnic group. Black adults in general were less likely than White and Hispanic adults to be employed and to be employed full time.

Young adults with more education were also less likely than their peers with less education to be out of the labor force in 2004, a pattern that generally held for all racial/ethnic groups. However, Black and Hispanic young adults in general were more likely than Whites to be out of the labor force (21 percent for both Black and Hispanic vs. 15 percent for White young adults).