A new report from the U.S. Department of Education tracks what college graduates from 2008 were doing four years later in 2012. The study found that 69 percent of 2008 college graduates were employed but not enrolled in higher education. Seventeen percent were enrolled in higher education and 11 percent were enrolled and also were employed.
In the report, only occupation data was broken down by race and ethnic group. The report found that 8 percent of African Americans who graduated from college in 2008 were employed in STEM fields. For Whites the figure was 11.4 percent. Nearly 10 percent of White college graduates held jobs in elementary or secondary education, compared to 6.7 percent of African American college graduates. Blacks were more likely than Whites to be employed in sales, social services, health care, and the trades. Some 21.5 percent of Whites held business or management jobs compared to 17.9 percent of Blacks.
The full report, Four Years Later: 2007-08 College Graduates’ Employment, Debt and Enrollment in 2012, may be downloaded by clicking here.
