Note: Shaded regions indicate periods when the economy was in recession, a period of time when the economy is contracting instead of growing. 

Questions:

• Finish the sentence based on the information in the graph: The ______ education you have the _______ the _____________________ rate. 
• During what periods is the gap in unemployment between the least educated and most educated the widest? the narrowest? 
• Your friend tells you that some college is better than none. Based on the chart above, how much do employers seem to value workers with "some college?"
• This chart measures unemployment rate for various educational levels. What do you think this chart would look like if you were comparing average salaries to educational levels? 

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Looking for more charts for your students to analyze? Be sure to check out NGPF's Data Crunch resources. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.