October 30, 1998 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
About 1 in 6 college graduates
earns less than high school graduates
Earning generally increase with additional
educational attainment, but this is not true for every individual. In 1996, about 17
percent of college graduates earned less than the median high school graduate. Median
earnings for high school graduates in 1996 were $23,317. The percentage of
college-educated workers earning less than $23,317 varied from 21 percent for bachelor's
degree holders to 7 percent for workers with a professional degree.
[Chart data—TXT]
The proportion of college-educated workers earning less than the median
for high school graduates tends to decline with age. About 14 percent of college graduates
aged 30 and over earned less than the median for high school graduates. However, low
earnings are still most common for younger graduates. Over one-half of young bachelor's
degree holders aged 20 to 24 earned less than the median for high school graduates.
In some occupations—such as service, farming, transportation, machine operators
and laborers, and administrative support—more than 40 percent of workers with a
bachelor's degree earned less than the median for high school graduates in the occupation.
Only 13 to 14 percent of workers in executive and managerial or technical operations were
likely to have lower earnings.
These data are a product of the Current Population Survey. For a summary on earnings by
educational attainment, see "Earnings
increase substantially with additional education", The Editor's Desk. Detailed information may be obtained from "Earnings of College Graduates, 1996",
Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Fall 1998.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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Read more »