UNDATED (AP) -- While college graduates are faring better than most during the recession, their unemployment rate is 3.7 percent -- nearing the record 3.9 percent hit in January 1983.

Tom and Shelley Ziech of Milwaukee both have master's degrees and impressive resumes. And they both lost their jobs last year.

The Milwaukee couple makes ends meet by drawing on unemployment insurance, severance packages and personal savings. So far, they have avoided spending retirement investments.

Tom Ziech says he's confident the couple will be back at work soon.

And experts say that's likely: College grads have more options when they're job hunting than people with less education. University of California, Berkeley, economist Sylvia Allegretto says as a rule, it's easier to move down the work-force food chain than to move up.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)