Although a report earlier this week claimed that business majors are the most underemployed in the country, they don't have too much to worry about. A recent study shows that the unemployment rate for recent business graduates is lower than the national average.
By examining unemployment in terms of occupation and education, researchers at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce found that the unemployment rate from 2010-2011 for recent business majors was 7.3%. Using this time period allowed for the report's authors to understand unemployment rates as they were effected by the recession.
By comparison, the national average for recent graduates during this period was 7.9%.
While being about average may not be something business majors would want to brag about, their unemployment rate is still lower than their peers who studied English, history, and the liberal arts. Each of these fields has a smaller ratio of underemployment, according to PayScale's report.
Underemployment rates measure people who are employed, but at a lower level position relative to their expertise in a field.
Overall, Georgetown's study claims that while it is more beneficial to earn a degree than to not, certain fields of study were effected by the recession more than others.
According to the authors, "This report reconfirms a harsh reality: not all college degrees are created equal."
Recent graduates who studied nursing, elementary education, and physical fitness have the lowest unemployment rates among recent graduates, the study found. Anthropology, architecture, and information systems majors have the highest.
