The Employment Status of Humanities Majors
In 2021, 5.2% of the humanities majors who were terminal bachelor’s degree holders (TBHs) were unemployed (defined as someone who does not have a job, is currently available for work, and actively looked for work in the previous four weeks and; Indicator III-04a).1 This was higher than the 4.3% rate among all TBHs. (The unemployment rate among Americans age 25 and older who completed high school but did not attend college was 7.1%).
TBHs who majored in the health/medical sciences and education had the lowest rates of unemployment, at 2.5% and 2.9% respectively.
The unemployment rate for male humanities TBHs was not measurably different from that for women (i.e., the difference between the two estimates was not statistically significant). The only field with a measurable difference between men and women was health/medical sciences, with a 3.6% rate for men and 2.3% for women.
The unemployment rate among people who received a bachelor’s degree in the humanities and subsequently earned an advanced degree (in any field) was 3.3%.2 This was slightly higher than the 2.7% rate among all college graduates who had earned an advanced degree (Indicator III-04b). Advanced degree holders who majored in education, engineering, and natural sciences all had unemployment rates that were measurably lower than the humanities’ rate. Advanced degree holders who had been art majors as undergraduates had the highest unemployment rate among all the fields examined here (4.5%).
Among those with advanced degrees, little difference was observed between the unemployment rates for men and women, irrespective of undergraduate major. Among those who had majored in the humanities as undergraduates before earning an advanced degree (in any field), men and women had the same unemployment rate of 3.3%.
Among early-career humanities TBHs (ages 23 to 32), men had a higher rate of unemployment (6.4%) than women (4.1%; Indicator III-04c).3 Among older TBHs (ages 48 to 59), men and women had the same unemployment rate of 5.1%.
Among humanities majors with advanced degrees, the unemployment rate for both age groups was similar for both women and men (3–4%).
Among younger TBHs (ages 23 to 32), graduates in the arts had the highest unemployment rate in 2018, 7.8%—higher than the 5.0% rate for their counterparts from the humanities (Indicator III-04d). Younger TBHs in education had the lowest rate of unemployment, 2.1%.
Among older TBHs (ages 48 to 59), arts majors again had the highest rates of unemployment (7.35%), while the rate among health/medical sciences graduates was the lowest, 2.2%. In comparison, the unemployment rate for humanities majors was 5.1%.
Among younger college graduates (ages 25 to 35) with an advanced degree, unemployment was quite low for all fields of undergraduate major (Indicator III-04e). The rate of unemployment for those who majored in the humanities as undergrads was not measurably different from that for majors in the arts, behavioral/social sciences, and business but was somewhat higher than for graduates who had majored in education, engineering, or the natural sciences.
The estimated unemployment rate for older graduates with advanced degrees (ages 49 to 60) was also quite low, regardless of undergraduate major. The 3.3% rate for humanities was somewhat higher than the rates for education, health/medical sciences, and the natural sciences.
* People were classified as unemployed if they did not have a job, were currently available for work, and had actively looked for work in the previous four weeks. For an inventory of the particular degree programs included under each of the broad academic fields to which the graph refers, see the ACS-HI Crosswalk.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
The information presented here on unemployment among degree holders in the humanities and other major academic fields is based on an original analysis by the Humanities Indicators of data from the American Community Survey (ACS), which has been administered by the U.S. Census Bureau since 2005. The ACS replaced the “long form” version of the decennial census and collects information—used to allocate billions in state and federal funding—about Americans’ personal characteristics, family composition, employment, income, and housing.
The ACS-based unemployment estimates presented here diverge from the better-known monthly unemployment figures based on the Current Population Survey (which is jointly sponsored by the Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]) because of differences between the two surveys in content, population sample, and data collection method. (For additional information, see the BLS’ “American Community Survey Questions and Answers” at http://www.bls.gov/lau/acsqa.htm.)
* People were classified as unemployed if they did not have a job, were currently available for work, and had actively looked for work in the previous four weeks. For an inventory of the particular degree programs included under each of the broad academic fields to which the graph refers, see the ACS-HI Crosswalk.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
The information presented here on unemployment among degree holders in the humanities and other major academic fields is based on an original analysis by the Humanities Indicators of data from the American Community Survey (ACS), which has been administered by the U.S. Census Bureau since 2005. The ACS replaced the “long form” version of the decennial census and collects information—used to allocate billions in state and federal funding—about Americans’ personal characteristics, family composition, employment, income, and housing.
The ACS-based unemployment estimates presented here diverge from the better-known monthly unemployment figures based on the Current Population Survey (which is jointly sponsored by the Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]) because of differences between the two surveys in content, population sample, and data collection method. (For additional information, see the BLS’ “American Community Survey Questions and Answers” at http://www.bls.gov/lau/acsqa.htm.)
* People were classified as unemployed if they did not have a job, were currently available for work, and had actively looked for work in the previous four weeks. For an inventory of the particular degree programs included under each of the broad academic fields to which the graph refers, see the ACS-HI Crosswalk.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
The information presented here on unemployment among degree holders in the humanities and other major academic fields is based on an original analysis by the Humanities Indicators of data from the American Community Survey (ACS), which has been administered by the U.S. Census Bureau since 2005. The ACS replaced the “long form” version of the decennial census and collects information—used to allocate billions in state and federal funding—about Americans’ personal characteristics, family composition, employment, income, and housing.
The ACS-based unemployment estimates presented here diverge from the better-known monthly unemployment figures based on the Current Population Survey (which is jointly sponsored by the Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]) because of differences between the two surveys in content, population sample, and data collection method. (For additional information, see the BLS’ “American Community Survey Questions and Answers” at http://www.bls.gov/lau/acsqa.htm.)
The ACS does not ask respondents about their amount of work experience. The Humanities Indicators thus uses age to distinguish between workers who are in the first years of their career and those who are more experienced. Age and work experience are not perfectly correlated, but age does provide an approximate measure of work experience that allows the Humanities Indicators to examine the effect of this experience on unemployment and earnings.
* People were classified as unemployed if they did not have a job, were currently available for work, and had actively looked for work in the previous four weeks. For an inventory of the particular degree programs included under each of the broad academic fields to which the graph refers, see the ACS-HI Crosswalk.
** “Early in career” workers are those ages 23 to 32. “Established” workers are those ages 48 to 59.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
The information presented here on unemployment among degree holders in the humanities and other major academic fields is based on an original analysis by the Humanities Indicators of data from the American Community Survey (ACS), which has been administered by the U.S. Census Bureau since 2005. The ACS replaced the “long form” version of the decennial census and collects information—used to allocate billions in state and federal funding—about Americans’ personal characteristics, family composition, employment, income, and housing.
The ACS-based unemployment estimates presented here diverge from the better-known monthly unemployment figures based on the Current Population Survey (which is jointly sponsored by the Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]) because of differences between the two surveys in content, population sample, and data collection method. (For additional information, see the BLS’ “American Community Survey Questions and Answers” at http://www.bls.gov/lau/acsqa.htm.)
The ACS does not ask respondents about their amount of work experience. The Humanities Indicators thus uses age to distinguish between workers who are in the first years of their career and those who are more experienced. Age and work experience are not perfectly correlated, but age does provide an approximate measure of work experience that allows the Humanities Indicators to examine the effect of this experience on unemployment and earnings.
* People were classified as unemployed if they did not have a job, were currently available for work, and had actively looked for work in the previous four weeks. For an inventory of the particular degree programs included under each of the broad academic fields to which the graph refers, see the ACS-HI Crosswalk.
** “Early in career” workers are those ages 23 to 32. “Established” workers are those ages 48 to 59.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
The information presented here on unemployment among degree holders in the humanities and other major academic fields is based on an original analysis by the Humanities Indicators of data from the American Community Survey (ACS), which has been administered by the U.S. Census Bureau since 2005. The ACS replaced the “long form” version of the decennial census and collects information—used to allocate billions in state and federal funding—about Americans’ personal characteristics, family composition, employment, income, and housing.
The ACS-based unemployment estimates presented here diverge from the better-known monthly unemployment figures based on the Current Population Survey (which is jointly sponsored by the Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]) because of differences between the two surveys in content, population sample, and data collection method. (For additional information, see the BLS’ “American Community Survey Questions and Answers” at http://www.bls.gov/lau/acsqa.htm.)
The ACS does not ask respondents about their amount of work experience. The Humanities Indicators thus uses age to distinguish between workers who are in the first years of their career and those who are more experienced. Age and work experience are not perfectly correlated, but age does provide an approximate measure of work experience that allows the Humanities Indicators to examine the effect of this experience on unemployment and earnings.
