25.3% of unemployment is now Americans with college degrees, a record high.
byu/TonyLiberty inFluentInFinance
The US labor market is showing unprecedented stress for Americans with four-year college degrees, who now make up a record 25.3% of total unemployed workers, a percentage that has more than doubled since the 2008 Financial Crisis.
According to recent government data for September 2025, over 1.9 million Americans aged 25 and older holding at least a bachelor’s degree are unemployed, marking the highest proportion on record since data tracking began in 1992.
The unemployment rate for college degree holders rose to 2.8% in September, up half a percentage point from the previous year. This figure contrasts with relatively stable unemployment rates for other education levels. The disproportionate rise among graduates signals a sharp slowdown in white-collar hiring and a broader weakening of the US labor market, possibly driven by technological shifts and economic restructuring.