A recession, as surely we know by now, is pretty bad on everyone. It’s a lot worse for people without a college education, however.
A recent report issued by the Pew Charitable Trusts indicates that college graduates have suffered less in the current recession. According to the paper:
Job losses during the recession made existing employment gaps even worse. The employment declines for those with [high school or associate degrees only] were 16 and 11 percent, respectively, compared with 7 percent for those with a BA degree.
Although wages decreased for all education groups, the decrease was less pronounced for recent four-year college graduates. The decline in weekly wages was only 5 percent for BA graduates, whereas the corresponding declines were as high as 12 and 10 percent for AA and HS graduates, respectively.
There’s no great surprise here. We’ve known for years that, despite the struggles faced by many recent graduates, college graduates fare better in the economy. It appears that this law holds true even given the vast economic changes wrought by the Great Recession.
The report did point to the “deteriorating market situation of recent college graduates,” which is pretty awful. Apparently, however, that “deteriorating market situation” is significantly worse for those without college degrees.
