By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
How necessary is college for getting a job? Very!
47147d99dc4c5b89adc52794ce887298cb7ee3fb48a012cedbb0327af0fb3284
Only about 1 percent of jobs created after the recession went to those without any level of college education. - photo by Sarah Anderson
Its no secret how college-driven the job economy has become, but just how much may surprise you.

A new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce shows more than 99 percent of job growth in the post-recession economy since 2010 went to those who had some level of college education, with workers that only had a high school diploma or less seeing practically no job recovery.

Out of the 11.6 million jobs that were created after the recession, 11.5 million went to those who had some college education, with graduate degree holders getting 3.8 million jobs, bachelors degree holders getting 4.6 million and associates degree holders getting 3.1 million, according to the report. Meanwhile, only 80,000 jobs, less than 1 percent, were added for workers with a high school diploma or less.

One of the reports co-authors, Tamara Jayasundera, told Bloomberg that its a sign of how the labor market is changing and demanding a more skilled workforce.

Clerical and low-skill jobs were lost during the recession, and most of the growth since has gone to managerial, high-skill jobs. Consulting and business services were the ones to add the largest number of jobs at 2.5 million since the recession, while manufacturing added the second highest at 1.7 million, the report found.

Workers with a bachelors degree or higher are the ones getting almost all the high- and mid-skill jobs, according to the report.

And 2016 marks the first time that people in the workforce with a bachelors degree or higher comprise a larger share than those with only a high school diploma or less, at 36 percent to 34 percent, the report noted.

The report concluded that the U.S. is actually going through two different job recoveries, with 65 percent of those workers employed having at least some postsecondary education and bachelors degree holders earning 57 percent of all wages. So those who dont have a postsecondary education will have to work on getting one to truly compete in high-skill fields, it added.

Quartz noted that the frustration of all those who did not go to college may be responsible for Donald Trumps popularity. It added that many of his supporters qualify as such, and he is quoted in a YouTube video at https://youtu.be/Vpdt7omPoa0 as saying, I love the poorly educated!

Anthony Carnevale, the centers director and the lead author of the report said the reports findings werent a surprise, as low-education, high-wage manufacturing jobs have been disappearing since the 1981 recession, with jobs that need more education taking their place, according to TakePart.

We ended up with a college economy, Carnevale told TakePart.

Carnevale also told TakePart that his concern was that Americans who had money would get solid, specific education, while those who were working class and a minority would just get job training.

Carnevales proposed solution was that colleges become a lot more efficient, giving students more information on finding a job after college and keeping them from spending time and money on courses that arent needed for a job, according to TakePart. Colleges also have to show more consideration for their poor and minority students, which wont happen until theyre efficient because efficiency frees up the money to be equitable, he added.