Recent Graduate Underemployment
This chart tracks the share of employed recent college graduates working in occupations that typically do not require a bachelor’s degree, compared with all college graduates. The New York Fed measure describes degree-job matching; it does not imply that these workers are part-time, low-paid, or working in food service.
What does it show?
About four in ten employed recent graduates work in occupations that typically do not require a degree.
Methodology
New York Fed calculations from the Current Population Survey. Underemployment is the share of employed bachelor's-degree holders working in occupations that typically do not require a degree; it does not mean the worker is part-time, low-paid, or working in food service. Recent graduates are ages 22–27 and the comparison covers all college graduates ages 22–65; current students are excluded. The source publishes seasonally adjusted three-month moving averages, displayed without further smoothing. These are New York Fed research calculations rather than official BLS estimates, and occupation classifications and recent vintages can revise.