Unemployment with advanced education (% of total labor force) in United States
United States: Unemployment with advanced education (% of total labor force) was 2.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Unemployment with advanced education in United States, 1994–2025
Source: Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total labor force with advanced education.
Analysis
United States recorded 2.9% for unemployment with advanced education in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 12.2% on the previous year and down 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment with advanced education in United States peaked at 5.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.9%, in 2000.
United States ranks 93rd of 130 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Unemployment with advanced education (% of total labor force) in United States, year by year
| Year | % of total labor force with advanced education | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 3.0% | — |
| 1995 | 2.8% | -5.3% |
| 1996 | 2.7% | -6.3% |
| 1997 | 2.3% | -13.9% |
| 1998 | 2.1% | -10.1% |
| 1999 | 2.1% | +2.6% |
| 2000 | 1.9% | -8.6% |
| 2001 | 2.6% | +32.5% |
| 2002 | 3.3% | +29.8% |
| 2003 | 3.5% | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 3.1% | -10.3% |
| 2005 | 2.7% | -12.5% |
| 2006 | 2.4% | -10.5% |
| 2007 | 2.4% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 3.0% | +24.5% |
| 2009 | 5.3% | +77.1% |
| 2010 | 5.5% | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 5.1% | -6.2% |
| 2012 | 4.7% | -7.7% |
| 2013 | 4.3% | -8.8% |
| 2014 | 3.7% | -14.6% |
| 2015 | 3.0% | -17.9% |
| 2016 | 2.9% | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 2.7% | -7.6% |
| 2018 | 2.5% | -8.8% |
| 2019 | 2.4% | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 5.6% | +134.9% |
| 2021 | 3.6% | -36.0% |
| 2022 | 2.3% | -35.1% |
| 2023 | 2.4% | +2.2% |
| 2024 | 2.6% | +9.9% |
| 2025 | 2.9% | +12.2% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 2.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 3.0%, 99% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment with advanced education (% of total labor force) in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +134.9% | 2.4% | 5.6% |
| 2009 | +77.1% | 3.0% | 5.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.5% | 2.1% | 3.0% | 6 |
| 2000s | 3.0% | 1.9% | 5.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.7% | 2.4% | 5.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 2.3% | 5.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More work & labour data for United States
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 113,208 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 61.24 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 178,849 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.4 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.05 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 159,991 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 141,322 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 58.55 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.27 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.3372 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment with advanced education in United States?
- Unemployment with advanced education in United States was 2.9% in 2025, according to Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment with advanced education recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 5.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest unemployment with advanced education recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.9% in 2000.
- How does United States rank for unemployment with advanced education?
- United States ranks 93rd out of 130 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment with advanced education rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment with advanced education (% of total labor force with advanced education). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The percentage of the labor force with an advanced level of education who are unemployed. Advanced education comprises short-cycle tertiary education, a bachelor’s degree or equivalent education level, a master’s degree or equivalent education level, or doctoral degree or equivalent education level according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).