College degrees earn less than a decade ago
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A college degree isn’t quite as lucrative as it was in the past, the Economic Policy Institute said.
Factoring in inflation, the average wage for graduates without an advanced degree dropped nearly a dollar per hour over the last 10 years, according to new research.
After gains in the 1980s and 1990s, hourly wages for young men dropped to $21.77 last year from $22.75 in 2000. For women, wages tumbled to $18.43 from $19.38 an hour.
Other studies still suggest that a bachelor’s degree can help holders earn 84% more over a lifetime than people with just a high school diploma.
On Friday, the Labor Department announced that the nation’s unemployment rate in August was 9.1%, with about 14 million people without work. More than 9%, or about 1.3 million, are between 20 and 24 years old.
The unemployment rate is 9.7% for high school graduates without any college, compared to 5% for those with a bachelor’s degree or more.
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-- Tiffany Hsu
