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In October 2009, the national unemployment rate was a staggering 10 percent. Since that peak, the percentage of unemployed workers searching for jobs has steadily fallen. This bodes well for college students, as recent graduates in the class of 2016 entered a favorable job market for the first time in years. This has many, including Janet L. Yellen, the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, believing that the value of a college degree is on the rise.
Of course, not all degrees are created equal. Some college majors have more value in the job market and are more desirable (and lucrative) than others. StartClass, an education research site powered by Graphiq, consulted the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's most recent report on The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates to find which college majors have the lowest unemployment rates. The data represents a 2013-2014 average and shows the unemployment and underemployment rates for recent college graduates (those aged 22 to 27 with a bachelor's degree or higher). Median wages are given for full-time workers with a bachelor's degree only. All figures exclude those currently enrolled in school.
For this study, StartClass included all majors with unemployment rates less than or equal to the federal unemployment rate of 4.6 percent (as of November 2016) and ranked them based on this number. We've also included each major's underemployment rate, which is the share of graduates working in jobs that typically do not require a college degree. Of the 26 majors included, 17 have unemployment rates under 4 percent, with two boasting unemployment rates under 2 percent.
Note: In the event of ties, the major with the higher early career median wage was ranked higher.
Compiled by Nick Selbe, StartClass.com
