The recession served a painful reminder on job-seekers and employees about the importance of higher education. During those dark days, the specter of unemployment haunted workers with not much college education, but it largely spared those with bachelor’s and higher degrees, at least in the US. When the recovery period came, it gave better rewards to workers and job-seekers who had postgraduate degrees.
The trend is clear. A master’s degree can help you get through recession.
Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) has conducted a study on employment in the US during the recession that lasted from December 2007 to January 2010 and during the recovery period from January 2010 to April 2016. Its report, “America’s Divided Recover: College Have and Have-Nots,” says the post-recession economy has sharply differentiated between those with college education and those without. Of the 11.6 million jobs created in the US in six years after the recession, 11.5 million went to job candidates with some college education and only the rest to those with just high-school diplomas.
The recession punished employees and job-seekers with only a high-school diploma or less more than it did workers with college degrees. Of the 7.4 million jobs that it took down, 5.6 million jobs were those of workers with high-school diplomas or less. Workers with associate’s degrees or some college education lost 1.8 million jobs. Those with higher degrees virtually did not lose jobs during the recession.
Fact sheet • In six years following the recession (2010-2016), school diploma holders in the US gained only 80,000 jobs, just a little over 1 percent of the jobs they lost during the recession. • Postgraduates gained 8.4 million jobs during the recovery, though they did not suffer much job loss during the recession. • Workers with some college education got a majority of “good jobs.” • Workers with master’s or higher degrees not only gained 253,000 jobs during the recession but also gained an additional 3.8 million jobs during the recovery. • 88 percent of companies who work directly with b-schools plan to hire MBAs in 2016. Higher degrees, better jobs
In six years following the recession, school diploma holders gained only 80,000 jobs (just a little over 1 percent of the jobs they lost during the recession) and associate’s degree holders gained 3.1 million jobs. The biggest beneficiaries of the recovery were candidates with higher degrees, who gained 8.4 million jobs, though they did not suffer much job loss during the recession. Workers with some college education also got the majority of “good jobs”—full-time jobs with annual salaries of about $53,000 and benefits such as health insurance.
Of course, the CEW report points that fewer jobs for job applicants with less education is not a new trend. The recession and recovery only highlighted the importance of college education. To find employment in the skill-based modern economy, a college education is essential.
However, job recovery hasn’t been even across the board for all college degree holders. A bachelor’s degree once used to guarantee a job. Not anymore. Now, a master’s degree is a must-have than a decorative accomplishment for many jobs.
During the recession, a trend of degree holders returning to school was noticed. Shrewd young men and women figured that if they had to wait out the recession, they could use the time to get a postgraduate degree and become better candidates for jobs once the recession was over. According to a US Census Bureau blog post in 2014, the number of postgraduates grew by 18 percent and the number of those with professional or doctoral degrees grew by 20 percent between 2008 and 2013.
They seem to have done very well for themselves in preparing for the end of recession and the revival of the job market. Recession may have wiped out 66,000 jobs held by workers with bachelor’s degrees, but the recovery added 4.7 million such jobs. Workers wit
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