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RECENT GRAD UNEMPLOYMENT

percent, ages 22–27 with a bachelor's degree or higher, seasonally adjusted 3-month average · 1990–2026 · lower is better · Federal Reserve Bank of New York, The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates
5.7%
Jun 2026 (latest)
4.0%
Nov 2022
13.4%
high · Jun 2020
3.5%
low · Apr 2019
+1.7 pts
since Nov 2022
50 YearsSince 200010 Years5 Years1 Year
2.1%4.2%6.3%8.4%200020052010201520202025 Dot-com bust & 9/11 (2001)’01Global financial crisis (2008)’08COVID-19 pandemic (2020)’20
┊ on the monthly chart the dashed line marks ChatGPT released (Nov 30, 2022); on the annual views, 1991 Gulf War recession · 2001 Dot-com bust & 9/11 · 2008 Global financial crisis · 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
Method & caveats. Unemployment rate of recent college graduates (ages 22–27, bachelor's degree or higher, not enrolled in school), computed by the New York Fed from Current Population Survey microdata as a seasonally adjusted three-month moving average, monthly from January 1990 and published quarterly. The same file carries the rate for all workers (ages 16–65), shown on the site for comparison. The Fed notes October 2025 values are estimated because of missing survey data during the federal shutdown. Annual figure is the twelve-month average.
Sources

Every value on this page is read from the publisher below. Current and historical source documents:

Monthly data

The publisher's own cadence, every period. The annual table below is derived from these values (annual average); the annual figures are what the almanac pages and the machine-readable exports carry.

PeriodRecent Grad UnemploymentChange
Jun 20265.7%+0.2 pts
May 20265.5%+0.0 pts
Apr 20265.5%−0.1 pts
Mar 20265.6%−0.2 pts
Feb 20265.8%+0.1 pts
Jan 20265.7%+0.1 pts
Dec 20255.6%−0.2 pts
Nov 20255.8%−0.0 pts
Oct 20255.8%+0.0 pts
Sep 20255.8%+0.6 pts
Aug 20255.2%+0.1 pts
Jul 20255.1%+0.2 pts
Jun 20254.9%−0.5 pts
May 20255.3%−0.5 pts
Apr 20255.8%+0.1 pts
Mar 20255.7%+0.4 pts
Feb 20255.3%+0.5 pts
Jan 20254.8%−0.0 pts
Dec 20244.8%+0.0 pts
Nov 20244.8%−0.4 pts
Oct 20245.2%−0.1 pts
Sep 20245.3%−0.1 pts
Aug 20245.3%+0.3 pts
Jul 20245.0%+0.3 pts
Jun 20244.7%−0.0 pts
May 20244.7%+0.1 pts
Apr 20244.6%+0.1 pts
Mar 20244.5%+0.2 pts
Feb 20244.3%−0.1 pts
Jan 20244.4%−0.5 pts
Dec 20234.9%−0.1 pts
Nov 20235.0%+0.2 pts
Oct 20234.8%+0.4 pts
Sep 20234.4%+0.1 pts
Aug 20234.3%+0.1 pts
Jul 20234.2%−0.1 pts
Jun 20234.3%+0.2 pts
May 20234.2%+0.1 pts
Apr 20234.1%+0.1 pts
Mar 20234.0%−0.1 pts
Feb 20234.1%−0.1 pts
Jan 20234.2%+0.1 pts
Dec 20224.0%+0.0 pts
Nov 20224.0%+0.2 pts
Oct 20223.9%−0.1 pts
Sep 20224.0%−0.3 pts
Aug 20224.3%+0.0 pts
Jul 20224.3%+0.1 pts
Jun 20224.2%+0.3 pts
May 20223.9%−0.1 pts
Apr 20223.9%−0.0 pts
Mar 20224.0%−0.3 pts
Feb 20224.2%−0.3 pts
Jan 20224.5%−0.2 pts
Dec 20214.7%−0.1 pts
Nov 20214.8%−0.2 pts
Oct 20215.0%−0.2 pts
Sep 20215.2%−0.4 pts
Aug 20215.7%−0.4 pts
Jul 20216.1%−0.1 pts
Jun 20216.2%−0.0 pts
May 20216.2%−0.1 pts
Apr 20216.3%−0.3 pts
Mar 20216.5%−0.1 pts
Feb 20216.6%−0.1 pts
Jan 20216.7%+0.0 pts
Dec 20206.7%−0.3 pts
Nov 20206.9%−0.6 pts
Oct 20207.5%−1.5 pts
Sep 20209.0%−1.7 pts
Aug 202010.7%−1.5 pts
Jul 202012.3%−1.1 pts
Jun 202013.4%+2.8 pts
May 202010.6%+3.2 pts
Apr 20207.4%+3.5 pts
Mar 20203.9%+0.1 pts
Feb 20203.8%+0.2 pts
Jan 20203.6%+0.0 pts
Dec 20193.6%+0.1 pts
Nov 20193.5%−0.3 pts
Oct 20193.8%−0.3 pts
Sep 20194.0%−0.1 pts
Aug 20194.2%−0.4 pts
Jul 20194.6%+0.3 pts
Jun 20194.3%+0.1 pts
May 20194.1%+0.7 pts
Apr 20193.5%−0.1 pts
Mar 20193.6%−0.2 pts
Feb 20193.8%−0.2 pts
Jan 20194.0%−0.0 pts
Dec 20184.1%+0.1 pts
Nov 20184.0%+0.2 pts
Oct 20183.8%+0.2 pts
Sep 20183.6%+0.1 pts
Aug 20183.5%−0.0 pts
Jul 20183.5%−0.0 pts
Jun 20183.6%−0.1 pts
May 20183.6%−0.1 pts
Apr 20183.7%−0.1 pts
Mar 20183.8%+0.2 pts
Feb 20183.5%+0.1 pts
Jan 20183.4%−0.1 pts
Dec 20173.5%−0.3 pts
Nov 20173.8%−0.1 pts
Oct 20173.8%+0.0 pts
Sep 20173.8%+0.1 pts
Aug 20173.7%−0.1 pts
Jul 20173.8%−0.3 pts
Jun 20174.0%−0.2 pts
May 20174.2%−0.1 pts
Apr 20174.3%+0.1 pts
Mar 20174.2%+0.1 pts
Feb 20174.1%+0.2 pts
Jan 20173.9%+0.1 pts
Dec 20163.8%+0.1 pts
Nov 20163.7%−0.4 pts
Oct 20164.1%+0.0 pts
Sep 20164.1%−0.3 pts
Aug 20164.4%+0.4 pts
Jul 20164.0%+0.0 pts
Jun 20164.0%+0.1 pts
May 20163.9%+0.0 pts
Apr 20163.8%+0.2 pts
Mar 20163.7%−0.0 pts
Feb 20163.7%−0.3 pts
Jan 20164.0%−0.4 pts
Dec 20154.4%−0.3 pts
Nov 20154.7%+0.1 pts
Oct 20154.6%+0.0 pts
Sep 20154.6%+0.3 pts
Aug 20154.2%−0.1 pts
Jul 20154.3%−0.1 pts
Jun 20154.4%−0.1 pts
May 20154.6%−0.2 pts
Apr 20154.8%−0.3 pts
Mar 20155.1%−0.5 pts
Feb 20155.6%−0.1 pts
Jan 20155.7%+0.1 pts
Dec 20145.6%+0.4 pts
Nov 20145.2%+0.2 pts
Oct 20145.0%−0.4 pts
Sep 20145.4%−0.2 pts
Aug 20145.6%+0.2 pts
Jul 20145.4%+0.5 pts
Jun 20144.9%−0.1 pts
May 20145.0%−0.3 pts
Apr 20145.3%−0.1 pts
Mar 20145.4%+0.2 pts
Feb 20145.2%−0.1 pts
Jan 20145.3%−0.2 pts
Dec 20135.4%−0.2 pts
Nov 20135.6%−0.2 pts
Oct 20135.9%−0.1 pts
Sep 20135.9%−0.1 pts
Aug 20136.0%+0.1 pts
Jul 20135.9%−0.2 pts
Jun 20136.1%−0.1 pts
May 20136.3%−0.1 pts
Apr 20136.3%+0.2 pts
Mar 20136.1%+0.2 pts
Feb 20135.9%+0.3 pts
Jan 20135.6%+0.2 pts
Dec 20125.4%+0.0 pts
Nov 20125.4%−0.2 pts
Oct 20125.5%−0.2 pts
Sep 20125.7%+0.1 pts
Aug 20125.6%+0.1 pts
Jul 20125.5%+0.1 pts
Jun 20125.4%+0.2 pts
May 20125.2%+0.2 pts
Apr 20125.1%−0.3 pts
Mar 20125.3%−0.4 pts
Feb 20125.7%−0.3 pts
Jan 20126.0%−0.2 pts
Dec 20116.2%−0.1 pts
Nov 20116.3%−0.0 pts
Oct 20116.3%−0.3 pts
Sep 20116.6%−0.3 pts
Aug 20116.9%+0.0 pts
Jul 20116.9%+0.6 pts
Jun 20116.3%−0.1 pts
May 20116.4%−0.4 pts
Apr 20116.8%−0.4 pts
Mar 20117.2%−0.2 pts
Feb 20117.3%−0.5 pts
Jan 20117.8%−0.0 pts
Dec 20107.9%+0.4 pts
Nov 20107.5%+0.8 pts
Oct 20106.7%+0.1 pts
Sep 20106.6%+0.0 pts
Aug 20106.6%−0.3 pts
Jul 20106.9%−0.2 pts
Jun 20107.1%−0.0 pts
May 20107.1%+0.2 pts
Apr 20106.9%+0.2 pts
Mar 20106.8%−0.1 pts
Feb 20106.9%−0.1 pts
Jan 20107.0%+0.2 pts
Dec 20096.8%+0.1 pts
Nov 20096.8%+0.0 pts
Oct 20096.7%+0.1 pts
Sep 20096.6%−0.1 pts
Aug 20096.7%−0.1 pts
Jul 20096.8%−0.4 pts
Jun 20097.2%+0.1 pts
May 20097.1%+0.3 pts
Apr 20096.8%+0.5 pts
Mar 20096.3%+0.5 pts
Feb 20095.8%+0.5 pts
Jan 20095.2%+0.2 pts
Dec 20085.0%+0.3 pts
Nov 20084.8%−0.0 pts
Oct 20084.8%+0.2 pts
Sep 20084.5%+0.2 pts
Aug 20084.3%+0.5 pts
Jul 20083.8%+0.3 pts
Jun 20083.5%+0.1 pts
May 20083.4%−0.1 pts
Apr 20083.5%−0.2 pts
Mar 20083.7%+0.1 pts
Feb 20083.6%+0.0 pts
Jan 20083.6%+0.2 pts
Dec 20073.4%−0.4 pts
Nov 20073.8%−0.0 pts
Oct 20073.8%−0.0 pts
Sep 20073.8%+0.1 pts
Aug 20073.8%+0.3 pts
Jul 20073.4%+0.2 pts
Jun 20073.2%+0.3 pts
May 20073.0%−0.2 pts
Apr 20073.1%−0.1 pts
Mar 20073.2%−0.1 pts
Feb 20073.3%−0.1 pts
Jan 20073.4%−0.2 pts
Dec 20063.6%−0.0 pts
Nov 20063.6%+0.1 pts
Oct 20063.6%+0.2 pts
Sep 20063.4%−0.1 pts
Aug 20063.4%−0.1 pts
Jul 20063.6%+0.1 pts
Jun 20063.4%−0.0 pts
May 20063.5%−0.1 pts
Apr 20063.5%−0.1 pts
Mar 20063.6%+0.0 pts
Feb 20063.6%+0.0 pts
Jan 20063.6%−0.2 pts
Dec 20053.8%−0.3 pts
Nov 20054.1%−0.0 pts
Oct 20054.1%−0.0 pts
Sep 20054.1%+0.4 pts
Aug 20053.7%−0.1 pts
Jul 20053.8%−0.0 pts
Jun 20053.8%−0.1 pts
May 20054.0%+0.1 pts
Apr 20053.9%−0.0 pts
Mar 20053.9%−0.2 pts
Feb 20054.1%−0.3 pts
Jan 20054.4%+0.1 pts
Dec 20044.3%+0.2 pts
Nov 20044.1%+0.3 pts
Oct 20043.8%−0.1 pts
Sep 20043.9%−0.3 pts
Aug 20044.1%+0.2 pts
Jul 20044.0%−0.2 pts
Jun 20044.2%−0.2 pts
May 20044.4%−0.5 pts
Apr 20044.8%+0.0 pts
Mar 20044.8%+0.2 pts
Feb 20044.5%−0.0 pts
Jan 20044.6%−0.1 pts
Dec 20034.6%+0.1 pts
Nov 20034.5%+0.1 pts
Oct 20034.4%+0.0 pts
Sep 20034.4%−0.1 pts
Aug 20034.5%+0.2 pts
Jul 20034.3%+0.1 pts
Jun 20034.2%+0.2 pts
May 20034.0%−0.2 pts
Apr 20034.2%−0.4 pts
Mar 20034.6%−0.3 pts
Feb 20034.9%+0.0 pts
Jan 20034.8%+0.2 pts
Dec 20024.7%−0.0 pts
Nov 20024.7%+0.0 pts
Oct 20024.6%+0.2 pts
Sep 20024.4%+0.2 pts
Aug 20024.2%−0.1 pts
Jul 20024.3%+0.1 pts
Jun 20024.2%−0.1 pts
May 20024.3%−0.3 pts
Apr 20024.6%−0.3 pts
Mar 20025.0%−0.4 pts
Feb 20025.3%+0.5 pts
Jan 20024.9%+0.3 pts
Dec 20014.5%+0.0 pts
Nov 20014.5%−0.3 pts
Oct 20014.8%+0.1 pts
Sep 20014.7%+0.5 pts
Aug 20014.2%+0.5 pts
Jul 20013.7%−0.0 pts
Jun 20013.7%+0.0 pts
May 20013.6%+0.4 pts
Apr 20013.2%+0.3 pts
Mar 20012.9%+0.5 pts
Feb 20012.4%−0.1 pts
Jan 20012.5%+0.0 pts
Dec 20002.5%−0.1 pts
Nov 20002.5%+0.0 pts
Oct 20002.5%+0.0 pts
Sep 20002.5%−0.2 pts
Aug 20002.7%−0.3 pts
Jul 20003.0%−0.0 pts
Jun 20003.0%−0.0 pts
May 20003.1%+0.3 pts
Apr 20002.8%−0.1 pts
Mar 20002.9%+0.1 pts
Feb 20002.8%−0.2 pts
Jan 20003.0%−0.4 pts
Dec 19993.5%+0.0 pts
Nov 19993.4%+0.0 pts
Oct 19993.4%+0.2 pts
Sep 19993.2%−0.3 pts
Aug 19993.5%+0.1 pts
Jul 19993.5%+0.1 pts
Jun 19993.4%+0.5 pts
May 19992.9%−0.1 pts
Apr 19993.0%+0.3 pts
Mar 19992.7%−0.1 pts
Feb 19992.8%+0.1 pts
Jan 19992.7%−0.1 pts
Dec 19982.8%−0.2 pts
Nov 19983.0%−0.1 pts
Oct 19983.1%−0.0 pts
Sep 19983.1%+0.2 pts
Aug 19982.9%+0.1 pts
Jul 19982.8%+0.1 pts
Jun 19982.7%+0.0 pts
May 19982.7%+0.1 pts
Apr 19982.6%+0.0 pts
Mar 19982.6%+0.1 pts
Feb 19982.6%+0.3 pts
Jan 19982.3%+0.1 pts
Dec 19972.1%+0.1 pts
Nov 19972.1%−0.8 pts
Oct 19972.8%−0.1 pts
Sep 19973.0%−0.0 pts
Aug 19973.0%+0.5 pts
Jul 19972.5%−0.1 pts
Jun 19972.6%−0.1 pts
May 19972.6%−0.2 pts
Apr 19972.9%−0.2 pts
Mar 19973.1%−0.4 pts
Feb 19973.5%−0.3 pts
Jan 19973.8%−0.0 pts
Dec 19963.9%+0.2 pts
Nov 19963.7%+0.2 pts
Oct 19963.5%−0.2 pts
Sep 19963.7%−0.1 pts
Aug 19963.8%−0.2 pts
Jul 19964.0%+0.5 pts
Jun 19963.5%−0.3 pts
May 19963.7%+0.2 pts
Apr 19963.6%−0.6 pts
Mar 19964.2%+0.3 pts
Feb 19963.9%−0.1 pts
Jan 19963.9%+0.1 pts
Dec 19953.8%−0.2 pts
Nov 19954.0%+0.0 pts
Oct 19954.0%+0.4 pts
Sep 19953.6%+0.1 pts
Aug 19953.5%−0.1 pts
Jul 19953.6%−0.8 pts
Jun 19954.4%−0.1 pts
May 19954.5%−0.2 pts
Apr 19954.7%+0.3 pts
Mar 19954.4%+0.3 pts
Feb 19954.1%+0.3 pts
Jan 19953.8%−0.0 pts
Dec 19943.8%−0.2 pts
Nov 19944.0%−0.1 pts
Oct 19944.1%+0.1 pts
Sep 19944.0%−0.2 pts
Aug 19944.3%+0.1 pts
Jul 19944.2%−0.0 pts
Jun 19944.2%+0.2 pts
May 19944.0%+0.1 pts
Apr 19943.9%+0.0 pts
Mar 19943.9%−0.5 pts
Feb 19944.5%−0.3 pts
Jan 19944.8%+0.0 pts
Dec 19934.7%+0.3 pts
Nov 19934.4%+0.1 pts
Oct 19934.3%+0.0 pts
Sep 19934.3%+0.3 pts
Aug 19934.0%−0.0 pts
Jul 19934.1%−0.1 pts
Jun 19934.2%−0.3 pts
May 19934.5%−0.1 pts
Apr 19934.7%−0.1 pts
Mar 19934.8%+0.2 pts
Feb 19934.6%−0.2 pts
Jan 19934.8%−0.0 pts
Dec 19924.9%−0.3 pts
Nov 19925.1%+0.1 pts
Oct 19925.0%−0.1 pts
Sep 19925.1%+0.1 pts
Aug 19924.9%+0.1 pts
Jul 19924.9%+0.5 pts
Jun 19924.4%−0.2 pts
May 19924.6%+0.1 pts
Apr 19924.5%−0.3 pts
Mar 19924.8%−0.1 pts
Feb 19924.9%+0.0 pts
Jan 19924.8%−0.3 pts
Dec 19915.1%+0.3 pts
Nov 19914.8%+0.1 pts
Oct 19914.7%+0.1 pts
Sep 19914.6%−0.2 pts
Aug 19914.8%−0.1 pts
Jul 19914.9%+0.2 pts
Jun 19914.8%+0.1 pts
May 19914.6%−0.0 pts
Apr 19914.6%−0.2 pts
Mar 19914.8%+0.0 pts
Feb 19914.8%+0.3 pts
Jan 19914.5%+0.4 pts
Dec 19904.1%+0.3 pts
Nov 19903.8%+0.0 pts
Oct 19903.7%+0.0 pts
Sep 19903.7%+0.0 pts
Aug 19903.7%+0.0 pts
Jul 19903.7%−0.2 pts
Jun 19903.9%+0.0 pts
May 19903.9%+0.3 pts
Apr 19903.6%+0.4 pts
Mar 19903.1%+0.1 pts
Feb 19903.0%−0.3 pts
Jan 19903.4%
Annual data
YearRecent Grad UnemploymentChange
20265.6%+0.2 pts
20255.4%+0.6 pts
20244.8%+0.4 pts
20234.4%+0.3 pts
20224.1%−1.7 pts
20215.8%−2.2 pts
20208.0%+4.1 pts
20193.9%+0.2 pts
20183.7%−0.2 pts
20173.9%+0.0 pts
20163.9%−0.8 pts
20154.8%−0.5 pts
20145.3%−0.7 pts
20135.9%+0.4 pts
20125.5%−1.3 pts
20116.8%−0.2 pts
20107.0%+0.4 pts
20096.6%+2.5 pts
20084.0%+0.6 pts
20073.4%−0.1 pts
20063.5%−0.4 pts
20054.0%−0.3 pts
20044.3%−0.2 pts
20034.5%−0.1 pts
20024.6%+0.9 pts
20013.7%+1.0 pts
20002.8%−0.4 pts
19993.2%+0.4 pts
19982.8%−0.1 pts
19972.8%−0.9 pts
19963.8%−0.3 pts
19954.0%−0.1 pts
19944.2%−0.3 pts
19934.5%−0.4 pts
19924.8%+0.1 pts
19914.8%+1.1 pts
19903.6%
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