...In the second quarter of 2011, the standard unemployment rate (referred to as U-3) for U.S.-born adults (18-plus) who have not completed high school was 20.8 percent. For young adults (18 to 29) who have not completed high school it was 30.7 percent.
Using the broader measure of unemployment (referred to as U-6) that includes those who want to work, but have not looked recently, and those forced to work part-time, the rate for U.S.-born adults (18-plus) who have not completed high school was 32.4 percent. For young adults (18 to 29) who have not completed high school the U-6 measure was 43.9 percent.
The U-3 unemployment rate for young (18 to 29), U.S.-born workers who have completed high school, but have no additional education, was 18.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011. Using the U-6 measure, it was 31.8 percent.
The U-3 rate for U.S.-born, young (18 to 29) adults who have completed some college, but do not have a bachelor’s degree, was 11.2 percent. Using the U-6 measure, it was 20.2 percent.
Those with a bachelor’s degree generally have been more insulated from recessions than other workers, and to some extent this is still true. But for young (21 to 29) U.S. workers with a bachelor’s degree, the U-6 measure was 10.4 percent in the first quarter of 2011. This is almost double their U-6 rate of 5.4 percent in the second quarter of 2011...