College graduates see shrinking wage edge and rising unemployment, new data show
Recent data reveal that the earnings advantage of U.S. college graduates has fallen sharply and their unemployment rate now exceeds the national average.
A report compiled by the Federal Reserve and highlighted by one outlet's shows that the salary premium for recent American college graduates dropped to 50% in 2025, compared with 69% a decade earlier. At the same time, the unemployment rate for graduates aged 22 to 27 reached 5.7% in June 2026, surpassing the overall worker unemployment rate of 4.1% and marking the first historic reversal. The disparity has been present since roughly 2020 and intensified from 2022 onward.
Possible explanations include declining academic rigor and the growing baseline of technological skills that reduce the need for formal degrees. Even elite programs feel the strain; about 80% of Stanford MBA alumni were employed within three years in 2024, down from 91% in 2021. Parallel declines are reported in Britain, the European Union, Japan and Canada, where graduate employment in sectors such as finance and law has fallen.
Why it matters
The trend signals weakening returns on higher education, affecting career choices and economic mobility worldwide.
In this story
