63% Rise in College-Educated Workers since 2000

Over the past two decades, the labor force has become much more educated. In 2000, workers with no more than a high school diploma greatly outnumbered workers with a bachelor's degree or more education. The opposite is the case today. Workers with a bachelor's degree or more education account for 41 percent of the civilian labor force aged 25 or older, while those with a high school diploma or less education account for just 32 percent.

Distribution of the Labor Force Aged 25 or Older by Educational Attainment

	2019		2000
	number	percent	number	percent	% change
	(in 000s)	distribution	(in 000s)	distribution	in number
Total labor force	142,448	100%	118,148	100%	20.6%
High school graduate or less	46,138	32	49,224	42	–6.3
Some college/Associate degree	37,421	26	32,844	28	13.9
Bachelor's degree or more	58,889	41	36,080	31	63.2

Behind the changing educational distribution of the labor force is robust growth in college-educated workers and a decline in the least educated. The number of workers with at least a bachelor's degree grew 63 percent between 2000 and 2019. The number of workers with a high school diploma or less education fell 6 percent during those years.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey