Huffington Magazine Issue 6 | Page 21

DATA Enter HUFFINGTON 07.22.12 Recession or Not, College Still Pays Current unemployment levels and anecdotal tales of jobless Ivy League graduates leave some wondering whether it’s worth taking on a pile of student debt to secure a college education. Some young Americans choose to skip college, but according Percent College Grads Percent Unemployed to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, those without at least four years of college still face higher unemployment rates and earn dramatically less than college graduates — as they also did a decade ago. — AJ Barbosa Percent College Grads: Relative to National Average (1996) Unemployment Rate: Relative to National Average TAP FOR DETAILED VIEW Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates. This map is based on the most recently available county data and only captures the beginning portion of the current recession.