A weak labor market has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don't fully use their skills and knowledge, according to an analysis of government data conducted for The Associated Press. About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor's degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years.

Broken down by occupation, young college graduates were heavily represented in jobs that require a high school diploma or less. They were more likely to be employed as waiters, waitresses, bartenders and food-service helpers than as engineers, physicists, chemists and mathematicians combined (100,000 versus 90,000). There were more working in office-related jobs such as receptionist or payroll clerk than in all computer professional jobs (163,000 versus 100,000). More also were employed as cashiers, retail clerks and customer representatives than engineers (125,000 versus 80,000).

Along with the prospect of unemployment and dismal pay, many college graduates are saddled with staggering debt from student loans. U.S. student loan debt surpassed credit card debt and auto loans for the first time last year and estimates for the total number of outstanding student loans range up to $1 trillion. In the last 25 years, college tuition and fees increased nearly five times as much as inflation. And, some economists predict the cost of attending state colleges will soar to $120,000 by 2015.

Economist says: "You can make more money on average if you go to college, but it's not true for everybody." -- Richard Freeman, Harvard.

Graduate says: "Everyone is always telling you, 'Go to college.' But when you graduate, it's kind of an empty cliff." -- Kelman Edwards Jr., Middle Tennessee State University

President Obama says: "We only finished paying off our student loans off about eight years ago . . . And that wasn't easy -- especially because when we had Malia and Sasha, we're supposed to be saving up for their college educations, and we're still paying off our college educations."