March 29, 2010 • Although the
unemployment rate for college
graduates is less
than half that of
high school grads, many say finding a job with a college degree is still tough in this economy.
Only about 46 percent of children aged three through six in families below the federal poverty line are enrolled in center - based early childhood programming, compared to 72 percent of children in families above the federal poverty line.1 Poor children are about 25 percent less likely to be ready for
school at age five
than children who are not poor.2 Once in
school, these children lag behind their better - off peers in reading and math, are less likely to be enrolled in college preparatory coursework, less likely to
graduate, and over 10 percent more likely to require remediation if they attend a four - year post-secondary institution.3 All of these issues compound one another to create a cycle of low opportunity: children in poverty are less likely to achieve
high educational attainment, and low educational attainment leads to lower median weekly earnings and
higher rates of
unemployment.
According to Pew Research, college - educated Millennials earn on average $ 17,500 more a year
than their peers with only a
high school education, and the
unemployment rate for college
graduates is just 3.8 percent versus 12.2 percent for
high school graduates.