Despite a decline or plateau in the number of high school graduates, enrollment at four-year colleges and graduate schools has increased steadily over the years.
In the job market, an oversupply of graduates is most pronounced in the segment of masters’ degree and Ph.D. holders, with the excess estimated at 900,000 persons.
Four-year college enrollment has risen steadily from 1990 to 2009, but the wage ratio between college and high school graduates has remained flat, with the former earning 50% more than the latter.
The trend mentioned above is largely because big companies hire more highly-educated persons and offer a better salary.