Almost 97% of the Good Jobs Created Since 2010 Have Gone to College Grads

In case you needed more evidence that getting a college degree is generally a good idea, Georgetown University is out with a new report that underscores how important a diploma has been in this recovery.

Of the 2.9 million "good jobs" created during the recovery from 2010 to 2014, 2.8 million — or 97 percent — have gone to workers with at least a bachelor's degree, according to Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce. Good jobs were defined as those with median annual earnings of more than $42,700 (in 2013 dollars), placing them in the top of three tiers according to wages of the occupations in which they're classified. For a full-time, year-round worker, these jobs pay more than $53,000 annually.

"The numbers are clear: postsecondary education is important for gaining access to job opportunities in the current economy," researchers Anthony Carnevale, Tamara Jayasundera and Artem Gulish wrote in the report. "Job seekers with bachelor's degrees or higher have the best odds of securing good jobs."

The researchers also found that contrary to popular narrative, the recovery has created more of these good jobs than either low-wage jobs (paying less than $25,800) or middle-wage jobs ($25,800 to $42,700). 

Both good jobs and low-wage positions have fully recovered from their recession losses, the researchers found. Middle-wage jobs, however, have had a hard time bouncing back. These occupations are still 900,000 jobs below their pre-recession employment levels, according to the report.

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