The unemployment rate is the percentage of the civilian labor force who are not currently employed but are still actively making efforts to find employment.[1] Unemployment and earnings commonly improve with educational attainment, the highest degree or level of education completed by an individual.[2] In other words, the adult population with less than a high school education generally has a higher unemployment rate than those with college degrees. This indicates that as an individual’s educational level increases, their employment prospects and ability to attain high-earning jobs increase as well.[3] Examining the unemployed population by educational attainment level provides a deeper understanding of the individual characteristics and economic structures associated with unemployment.

While the unemployment rate is typically used as an indicator of family hardship, unemployment affects everyone within an economy regardless of employment status.[4] Eligible workers lose potential wages by being unemployed, which lowers household purchasing power, decreases nationwide production capacity of goods and services, and ultimately leads to job loss of other workers.[5] This makes unemployment an extremely important statistic to measure. Policymakers are best able to determine solutions to unemployment by analyzing trends and determining its factors, such as education, gender, sex, age, race, ethnicity, and geography.[6]

The unemployment rate is the percentage of the civilian labor force who are not currently employed but are still actively making efforts to find employment.[1] Unemployment and earnings commonly improve with educational attainment, the highest degree or level of education completed by an individual.[2] In other words, the adult population with less than a high school education generally has a higher unemployment rate than those with college degrees. This indicates that as an individual’s educational level increases, their employment prospects and ability to attain high-earning jobs increase as well.[3] Examining the unemployed population by educational attainment level provides a deeper understanding of the individual characteristics and economic structures associated with unemployment.

While the unemployment rate is typically used as an indicator of family hardship, unemployment affects everyone within an economy regardless of employment status.[4] Eligible workers lose potential wages by being unemployed, which lowers household purchasing power, decreases nationwide production capacity of goods and services, and ultimately leads to job loss of other workers.[5] This makes unemployment an extremely important statistic to measure. Policymakers are best able to determine solutions to unemployment by analyzing trends and determining its factors, such as education, gender, sex, age, race, ethnicity, and geography.[6]