Persisting gaps: Labor Market outcomes and numeracy skill levels of first-generation and multi-generation College graduates in the United States

While empirical research on American first-generation college students has tracked how students move into and through institutions, researchers rarely report on post-graduation outcomes of first-generation students. This project tests the assumption that first-generation and multi-generation college graduates are indistinguishable across numeracy skill and labor market outcomes. We analysed a nationally representative survey collected by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which includes a measure of numeracy skill as well as labor market outcomes. We find that first-generation college graduates enjoy access to many of the same labor market outcomes of their multi-generation college graduate peers. However, first-generation college graduates lag behind in measures of numeracy.