The major saw an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent, just under those top majors like physics and anthropology, which had rates of 7.8 and 9.4 percent respectively.
Computer engineering, which at many schools is the same as computer science, had a 7.5 percent unemployment rate, calling into question the job market many computer science graduates are entering.
On the other hand, majors like nutrition sciences, construction services and civil engineering had some of the lowest unemployment rates, hovering between 1 percent to as low as 0.4 percent.
This data was based on The New York Fed’s report, which looked at Census data from 2023 and unemployment rates of recent college graduates.
It’s from the same source as the OP’s article (The New York Fed), you’ll see it says last updated in 2025 but if you scroll down you’ll see them mentioning it to be 2023 data which is what the article was based on too
bio is middle of it, probably because most of them are in health, instead of research and biotech.3%, i wonder if they seperate the 2 biotech might be a higher unemployment, because i noticed that people often cant find a job most of the time, because of the significant amount of experience required+ grad degree if applicable.
Thanks, that was what I was looking for, but I missed the source data. That table also adds in an underemployment rate, which is a good reference too I think. Many of the degrees with the worst unemployment rates also have very high underemployment rates, meaning that many of the people in those degrees who do have jobs are only finding part time work or are stuck with jobs that don’t meet their qualifications.
While computer science/engineering does have a high unemployment rate, it’s underemployment rate is far better than the surrounding degrees. Taking that into consideration does make it seem like a better career than just the unemployment rate would suggest.
depends if the students intends to go into grad school or research, probalby best to get a BS, if there is one. rather than go through the headache of getting required courses down the line tha tthe BA dint require. some people fall into the trap of doing a BA, because it finishes the degree faster. as a post-bacc, which people realize thier mistake will have to pay more for tuition, and wont have any priority for registration, which some universities might have professors only teaching a class you need one semester and not another.
BA doesnt recovery heavy math, and stem courses, unlike a BS degree. i looked at a BA and bs for bio, bio required a ton more lab and science cours, and chem, ochem, biochem. but ba might not require all of those.
for psych its almost always BA, unless your doing a PHD in the future. PSY-D might only need a BA.
physics and anthropology, pretty much you can guess, there really isnt a market for these majors, outside of a university, or a university lab. and faculty positions are extremely competitive, and university also wish to not employ anymore tenure so they dont have to pay employees too much.(thats why they have been cutting corners with adjuncts)
I’m curious how this compares to non-STEM majors.
It says in the article
Other than anthropology, I think the rest of those are all STEM majors as well.
Here a table info with others non-STEM degrees unemployement rate: Labor Market Outcomes of College Graduates by Major ^<sup>.xlsx
It’s from the same source as the OP’s article (The New York Fed), you’ll see it says last updated in 2025 but if you scroll down you’ll see them mentioning it to be 2023 data which is what the article was based on too
bio is middle of it, probably because most of them are in health, instead of research and biotech.3%, i wonder if they seperate the 2 biotech might be a higher unemployment, because i noticed that people often cant find a job most of the time, because of the significant amount of experience required+ grad degree if applicable.
Thanks, that was what I was looking for, but I missed the source data. That table also adds in an underemployment rate, which is a good reference too I think. Many of the degrees with the worst unemployment rates also have very high underemployment rates, meaning that many of the people in those degrees who do have jobs are only finding part time work or are stuck with jobs that don’t meet their qualifications.
While computer science/engineering does have a high unemployment rate, it’s underemployment rate is far better than the surrounding degrees. Taking that into consideration does make it seem like a better career than just the unemployment rate would suggest.
Is anthropology not considered a science?
depends if the students intends to go into grad school or research, probalby best to get a BS, if there is one. rather than go through the headache of getting required courses down the line tha tthe BA dint require. some people fall into the trap of doing a BA, because it finishes the degree faster. as a post-bacc, which people realize thier mistake will have to pay more for tuition, and wont have any priority for registration, which some universities might have professors only teaching a class you need one semester and not another.
It depends on the focus I think, some anthropology careers do fall under STEM. But generally it’s not a STEM degree afaik.
I mean, it’s a BS not a BA right? Or no? Same with psychology?
BA doesnt recovery heavy math, and stem courses, unlike a BS degree. i looked at a BA and bs for bio, bio required a ton more lab and science cours, and chem, ochem, biochem. but ba might not require all of those. for psych its almost always BA, unless your doing a PHD in the future. PSY-D might only need a BA.
TIL it can be either?
From looking it up, it’s usually a BA, but it can be a BS depending on focus.
physics and anthropology, pretty much you can guess, there really isnt a market for these majors, outside of a university, or a university lab. and faculty positions are extremely competitive, and university also wish to not employ anymore tenure so they dont have to pay employees too much.(thats why they have been cutting corners with adjuncts)