Young College Graduates Are $3,200 Poorer Than They Were In 2000: EPI

Recent college graduates trying to make it on their own have truly been living through a lost decade.

Young college graduates are making less money than they made in 2000, according to a new analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. Those working full-time for the entire year made roughly $3,200 less in 2012 than they made in 2000, when adjusted for inflation.

The Economic Policy Institute analyzed the wages of 21- to 24-year-old college graduates who are not in school and don't have an advanced degree.

At least they're lucky enough to have a job.

The unemployment rate for recent bachelor's degree recipients was 13.5 percent in October of 2011, according to a recent report by the Labor Department. That is triple the unemployment rate for college graduates age 25 and older at the time.

But that doesn't mean a college degree isn't still useful. The unemployment rate for high school graduates age 25 and older without any college experience was roughly double the unemployment rate for college graduates age 25 and older in February, according to the Labor Department.