Question

earnings and unemployment rates by educational attainment, 2021 © us bureau of labor and statistics a high school diploma has little impact on the unemployment rate and weekly earnings of workers. obtaining a doctoral degree offers the lowest risk of unemployment and greatest potential weekly earnings. a bachelor’s degree is the most cost - effective level of education for lower risk of unemployment and greater weekly earnings. earning a master’s degree over a bachelor’s degree can significantly decrease your risk of unemployment

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each statement against the bar graph (education vs. unemployment rate and weekly earnings):

1. "A high school diploma has little impact...": The graph shows high school diploma holders have higher unemployment and lower earnings than those with more education (e.g., bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral). So it does have a significant impact (lower earnings, higher unemployment) – this is false.

1. "Obtaining a doctoral degree offers the lowest risk of unemployment and greatest potential weekly earnings.": The graph (green bars for unemployment, blue for earnings) shows doctoral degree holders have the lowest unemployment rate and highest weekly earnings. This matches the data.

1. "A bachelor’s degree is the most cost - effective...": The graph shows master’s and doctoral degrees have lower unemployment and higher earnings than bachelor’s. So bachelor’s is not the “most cost - effective” in terms of lowest unemployment/highest earnings – this is false.

1. "Earning a master’s degree over a bachelor’s...": The graph shows master’s has lower unemployment than bachelor’s, but doctoral has even lower. However, the key is that the statement says “significantly decrease” – while true, the second statement (“doctoral offers lowest risk/highest earnings”) is more directly supported by the graph’s extreme values (doctoral is the peak for earnings and trough for unemployment).

Answer:

Obtaining a doctoral degree offers the lowest risk of unemployment and greatest potential weekly earnings.