Five Million College Grads in Jobs that Don't Require a High School Diploma

A new study finds that 48% of recent college graduates are now in jobs that do not require a bachelor’s degree, and 37% hold jobs that require just a high school diploma.

The study, titled “Why Are Recent College Graduates Underemployed? University Enrollments and Labor Market Realities,” was conducted by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity using employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

“Student-loan programs and federal assistance programs are based on some sort of implicit assumption that we’re training people for the jobs of the future,” says Richar Vedder, director of the center and a professor emeritus at Ohio University. “In reality, a lot of them are not.”

The study found that the proportion of over-educated workers is on the rise. In 1970, less than 1% of taxi drivers and 2% of firefighters held college degrees. Today, over 15% do in each profession. Moreover, five million college graduates are now in jobs that don’t even require a high school diploma. 

Kristopher Del Campo, 23 and a senior majoring in psychology at DePaul University, says that many of his classmates fear today’s dismal job market and are instead opting for graduate school, which will make them even more overqualified for jobs. 

“A lot of undergraduates are wondering whether they will find jobs that allow them to use their degree,” said Del Campo in an interview with Breitbart News. “So they’re going to graduate school instead, which will drive them deeper into debt.”

Indeed, college graduates are fortunate to find any job in today’s bleak economy. In 2006 and 2007, 90% of all college graduates found a job within a year of graduating. Since 2011, just 56% of college graduates are able to find work.