Historically, enrollment in graduate school picks up amid recession as workers take the time to "skill up" or pivot to another industry with better career prospects or pay.
"When the economy goes down, the interest in graduate schools goes up," said Eric Greenberg, president of Greenberg Educational Group, a New York-based consulting firm.
Still, a recession may be looming, some experts say, which raises the question of whether going back to school makes more sense than trying to weather a potential period of unemployment.
In 2020, nationwide enrollment in graduate school initially sank but then quickly rebounded in 2021, only to slump again in the fall of 2022.
There's usually a lag time of up to a year after the economy slows before workers return to school for retraining, he said.