The era of the overeducated barista is coming to a close.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/05/18/the-class-of-2015-is-the-first-in-years-that-wont-have-to-worry-about-working-at-coffeeshops/
Purely anecdotal, but reading the high school Class of 2011 thread it seems to me that the newest grads are finding jobs and my son’s friends all have jobs lined up, too, except the ones who are going on to grad school. But, since these are kids of CC parents and in my son’s case grads of top 20 school, it might differ from a lot of graduates reality.
If true, it is a very good thing.
The last graph does show a high underemployment rate of new college graduates even in better times. The article does not define “underemployment”, though it implies taking a job that requires lower skill levels than one has.
There will always be art history majors artfully frothing cappuccinos
The one I know is working at google.
I know an art history major at google, also. The other one I know is a curator (she has a masters in art history, too.)
There will always be art history majors working as financial analysts, marketing managers, project leaders for insurance companies, directors of employee relations, etc.
Apparently they don’t teach math anymore in colleges to journalists. I can’t imagine anyone calling it a victory based on a 2 percent drop on a close to 50% underemployment number.
It is exactly a drop in underemployment of 4.3% in percentage terms and this is the basis for this big story?
OTOH, unemployment number looks really good at 5% which can be a basis for a real story.
I didn’t see it mentioned, but the aging of the baby boom may be playing a role here too. Years ago I had read that the early part of this decade would be great for young people as the baby boomers retired. The recession changed that, but I suspect that some folks who delayed retirement in the last few years are now retiring.
As a parent of a college student, I am hopeful 
My art history/chemistry child is working at a very lucrative internship this summer in an art-history related field, as are most of her former classmates.
And there will always be art history majors(undergrad and grad), such as myself, who own and run their own companies.
My art history niece is actually at google too. Funny world.
And @GMTplus7 , can you imagine my favorite past time at work? It’s hiring or firing engineers. SO IRONIC.
Based on http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-Degrees_that_Pay_you_Back-sort.html , art history looks like a high-Gini major in terms of later mid-career pay levels. The top paid graduates do quite well (like in most majors), but the bottom paid graduates do not do very well. One can speculate that the top graduates are adaptable (since there are not a lot of art history specific jobs) and are able to do well at various employable activities that they adapt to, while the bottom ones are less adaptable.
If folks could just find this elusive …thing that makes “top graduates”.
“that the top graduates are adaptable” . This.
One common trait that I have discovered among successful graduates, no matter what their field, is that they are all intellectually curious, open to new pathways, exited about new ideas and therefore adaptable.
I have 2 cousins who are art history majors, who are still being semi-supported by their mom & dad in their 40’s.
^ Maybe it has nothing to do with their major and they are just duds.
If your art history degree is from Southwestern State U. of a state in the middle of nowhere, frothing a frappuccino is probably the best employment you can hope for. On the other hand, if it is from Yale, you can do anything with it, Wall Street, Google, whatever.