Study finds 97% of new, high-paying jobs went to degree holders from 2010-2014

According to an article in the August 18, 2015 Education Advisory Board Daily Briefing  nearly 3 million jobs added during the economic recovery following the Great Recession are “good jobs” that pay at least $53,000 a year—and nearly all of those are going to college graduates, according to a new report from Georgetown University‘s Center on Education and the Workforce.

Released August 17, the study found that 44% of the 6.6 million jobs created from 2010 to 2014 were good jobs—and 97% of them went to college graduates.

For the report, researchers used census data to group jobs into 485 occupations—rather than industries—calculated the median annual earnings, and divided them into three tiers. The top earners were the “good jobs.”

Many of the new jobs created were in managerial, STEM , and health-care professions.

And while many college-educated individuals were unemployed or underemployed during the recession, those levels were much higher for people with just a high school degree or less, says Anthony Carnevale, lead author of the report.

“We don’t have enough jobs yet and that means that the college graduates are first in line and they’re bumping out the people who aren’t college graduates,” Carnevale says. “If you’ve got a high school degree and you had a good middle-skill job you were very much at risk.” 

Syracuse University recently introduced two part-time degree and certificate programs that provide the skills employers seek when hiring new employees. The Creative Leadership and Knowledge Management programs can be completed entirely online or through a combination of online and on-campus classes. The certificate programs are comprised of five classes that can later be folded into the degree program. New York State residents may be eligible for scholarships worth 50 percent off tuition.

More than 150 additional degree programs are available at SU, many of which can be earned on a part-time basis.

For more information about part-time study opportunities at Syracuse, University, call 315-443-3261, e-mail parttime@uc.syr.edu or visit professionalstudies.syracuse.edu.