By Annalyn Kurtz, CNNMoney

New York (CNNMoney) – Workers across America are experiencing completely different versions of the jobs recovery, depending on their education level.

The recovery is favoring the college educated, but leaving behind those with a high school diploma or less.”In the recession and recovery, those with the most education are hurt the least and recover the fastest,” said Anthony Carnavale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

Workers with the highest level of education – including master’s, doctorates and professional degrees – are a relatively small part of the population, yet they’re experiencing the fastest employment gains.

About 1.1 million more of them say they had jobs in 2012, compared to the bottom of the job market in 2010 – a 6.7% gain – according to Labor Department data.

Meanwhile, workers with bachelor’s degrees – a much larger group – have reported 5% employment gains.

That contrasts starkly with workers at the opposite end of the education spectrum, who are not only reporting they have fewer jobs, but are also leaving the workforce in droves.

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