The Class of '86: One Year After Graduation. (cover story)

LABOR supply; EMPLOYMENT of college graduates; COLLEGE graduates; UNITED States. Dept. of Education; UNITED States. Bureau of Labor Statistics

This article presents information on the labor force and graduate school status of 1986 college graduates in 20 major fields. These 20 major fields are: Accounting, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Biological Sciences, Business and Management, Chemistry, Communications, Computer and Information Services, Economics, Education, Engineering, English, History, Home Economics, Mathematics, Nursing, Physical Education, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. The college class of 1986 enjoyed more success in the labor market than did the classes of 1977, 1980 or 1984 according to a survey of recent graduates conducted by the U.S. Department of Education and analyzed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The proportion of graduates in the labor force reached 89%. Almost all the gain was in full-time employment, which reached 73%. Twelve percent of the graduates were employed in part-time and 4% were unemployed. Despite the gains in the job market, graduate school attendance was also high, at 24%, only 1% lower than it had been for the class of 1977. Seventy-five percent of those working in the labor force were in jobs that generally required a degree. The remainder, 25% were in other occupations, that is those not generally requiring a degree.