Oregon Unemployment Rates by Education Level

Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data on unemployment rates by educational attainment. This data is rather timely as students all over Oregon are preparing to hit the books as the 2013-14 school year approaches.

The 2012 annual average unemployment rate for Oregonians age 25 and older was 7.4 percent. For those with at least a Bachelor Degree the rate was much lower: 3.9 percent. That’s less than half the rate for those with some college or an Associate Degree (8.5%), and one-third the rate for those without a high school diploma (11.8%). With an unemployment rate of 10.5 percent, high school graduates fared slightly better than those who did not complete high school, but not as well as those with some form of post-secondary education.