Bloomberg, September 7, 2016: Affordable Care Act Helps Reduce U.S. Uninsured Rate: Chart

“Less-educated workers have fewer career options, even as slack in the labor market is evaporating and the economy edges closer to restoring full employment. The unemployment rate for those with a high-school diploma was 5.1 percent in August, compared with 2.7 percent for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher. For those with less than a high-school degree, the jobless rate was 7.2 percent. Darrell Jackson, a 31-year-old in Atlanta, says having just a high-school diploma probably closed doors for him in the job market. Jackson said he’s applied for about 50 positions and landed no interviews in the three weeks since losing his job as a parking garage maintenance worker. He’s now considering an online training program to boost his skills. ‘For physical labor or general labor, education doesn’t really play a part,’ he said. ‘But if I did have a better education, I could have better job offers and probably compete a little bit more for jobs.’”