1 in 2 grads jobless or underemployed
A weak labor market has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don't fully use their skills and knowledge.
An analysis of government data conducted for The Associated Press lays bare the highly uneven prospects for holders of bachelor's degrees.
About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor's degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years.
Out of the 1.5 million who languished in the job market, about half were underemployed, an increase from the previous year.
The figures are based on an analysis of 2011 Current Population Survey data by Northeastern University researchers and supplemented with material from Paul Harrington, an economist at Drexel University, and the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank.
While there's strong demand in science, education and health fields, arts and humanities flounder. Median wages for those with bachelor's degrees are down from 2000, hit by technological changes that are eliminating midlevel jobs such as bank tellers.
"You can make more money on average if you go to college, but it's not true for everybody," says Harvard economist Richard Freeman. -- AP
