Figure C
Young workers have experienced strongest wage growth in the pandemic business cycle: Real wage changes for college graduates four years from prior peak, in current and last three business cycles
| College graduates, 21-24 | |
|---|---|
| Jul 1990 – Aug 1994 |
-7.5% |
| Mar 2001 – Apr 2005 |
-4.3% |
| Dec 2007 – Jan 2012 |
-4.9% |
| Feb 2020 – Mar 2024 |
2.2% |
Notes: Each month represents a 12-month moving average leading up to that month; for instance, March 2024 represents the average value from April 2023 to March 2024. Data sample includes only those college graduates ages 21–24 who have not attained an advanced degree and who are not enrolled in further schooling.
Source: EPI analysis of the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0.51 (2024), https://microdata.epi.org.
This chart appears in: