A new graph based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data reveals how bad the job market really is for Young Americans during this “Great Recession.”

Its conclusion: Some scholars are better off getting the barista job before going to college instead of after.

Just last week we asked “Is college waste of time and money?” It appears, based on the latest data from the BLS, that for all too many, it absolutely is. As CNN Money reports, about 260,000 people who had a college or professional degree made at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 last year.
Via CNN Money,

 Experts point to shifts in the post-recession labor market as the reason for so many college graduates in low-paying jobs.

“The only jobs that we’re growing are low-wage jobs, and at the same time, wages across occupations, especially in low-wage jobs, are declining,” said Tsedeye Gebreselassie, a staff attorney at the worker advocacy group National Employment Law Project.

…Some 58% of the jobs created during the recent economic recovery have been low-wage positions like retail and food prep workers, according to a 2012 NELP report. These low-wage jobs had a median hourly wage of $13.83 or less.

Perhaps the following sums it all up perfectly…

 “My family told me, ‘just get your degree and it will be fine,'” Bingham told CNNMoney. “A degree looks very nice, but I don’t have a job to show for it.”