The number of jobs requiring a college degree has decreased across almost all areas since 2020, with the only exception being remote positions.
A new study performed by Revelio Labs found that the share of jobs requiring at least a bachelor’s degree has declined in the last two years. In April 2020, 52.5% of job postings required at least a bachelor’s degree, but that number dropped to 47.2% in November 2022.
Rather than requiring a bachelor’s degree, the study found that jobs have begun to require more specific skills. During this same timeline, the average number of required skills rose slightly from 37 to 38.6.
“A lot of these companies that are decreasing degree requirements are companies that have come out and made this public pledge to decreasing the paper ceiling and being inclusive of all of America,” said Lisa Simon, a senior economist at Revelio Labs, to the Dallas Business Journal.
“Paper ceiling” describes an invisible barrier that many people without a bachelor’s degree might experience in the workforce. By requiring skills rather than a degree, companies may be able to lower or remove that barrier.
Simon said that recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and government shutdowns has resulted in a tight labor market. As a result of this market, employers are more likely to search for skills rather than formal education since they are attempting to get more candidates through the door.
“The general trend is one of decreasing formal educational requirements across the board, across the economy,” said Simon. “And that’s exactly what we expect to see in a tight labor market.”
“I think employers are finally ready to embrace this and omit less formal requirements and instead increase the skill requirements,” Simon said.
Revelio Labs discovered that remote jobs have bucked the trend away from degree requirements. The study found that 55.4% of remote postings require a bachelor’s degree, compared to 39.8% for non-remote jobs.