The national unemployment rate was 6.7% in November 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). College graduates fared better, while people with just a high school diploma fared worse.
Among people age 25 or older with a Bachelor’s degree or more advanced degree, the unemployment rate was 4.1% in November 2020, down from the peak of 8.2% in April 2020 but above the 1.8% unemployment rate in November 2019.
Among college graduates age 25 and older with just a Bachelor’s degree, the unemployment rate was 4.7% in November 2020, compared with 9.4% in April 2020 and 1.9% in November 2019.
For high school graduates with no college age 25 and older, the unemployment rate was 7.4% in November 2020, compared with 17.0% in April 2020 and 3.5% in November 2019.
The unemployment rates were a little higher for recent college graduates age 16-24 than for college graduates age 25 and older in November 2020. Among people age 16-24, the unemployment rates were 6.6% for people with Bachelor’s degree or more advanced degree and 13.1% for high school graduates with no college.
For comparison, the overall national unemployment rates were 5.8% for people age 25 or older and 10.8% for people age 16-24 as of November 2020.
Overall, unemployment rates decrease with increasing educational attainment.
Among people with a Bachelor’s degree or more advanced degree, unemployment rates differed by gender and race. Unemployment rates were higher for men than women (4.2% vs. 3.9%) and lower for White people (3.6%) than for Black or African-American people (6.3%), Asian people (5.4%) and Hispanic or Latino people (6.3%).