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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Current Population Survey > Home

School enrollment

Here you will find labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics by school enrollment from the Current Population Survey (CPS) as well as information about these data. The CPS covers the nation’s civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 and older and typically provides school enrollment data on people ages 16 to 24.

Explore our data

Read the latest College Enrollment and Work Activity of High School and College Graduates news release (annual)
- Find archived news releases in HTML and PDF format
Find labor force statistics by school enrollment in our monthly table
- Table A-16, also available in PDF

Looking for additional analysis?

Search the data visualizations in the TED: The Economics Daily for school enrollment
Search our library of research by CPS staff for school enrollment

Understanding these data

What you need to know

Information on the school enrollment of people ages 16 to 24 is published monthly (see table A-16), and the data series go back to 1985. In 2013, the scope of the monthly question on school enrollment was expanded to people ages 16 to 54. Each October, a special supplement on school enrollment captures additional detail about school enrollment for people of all ages. The supplemental survey includes questions about public or private schooling, the grade attended, 2-year or 4-year colleges or universities, enrollment status (and grade) a year earlier, and whether most recent degrees were received in the last year. Some information from this October supplement is highlighted in our College Enrollment and Work Activity of High School Graduates news release and its Technical Note.
School enrollment is classified separately from employment, unemployment, and participation in the labor force. The labor force is made up of people age 16 and older who are either currently employed or unemployed.
A person is counted as unemployed if they do not have a job, are available to take one if offered, and are either actively looking for work or on temporary layoff. An individual is counted as employed if they have a job, work for themselves, or are temporarily absent from a job. People enrolled in school, whether high school or college, can be included among the employed, unemployed, and people in the labor force.
An individual is counted as employed regardless of whether they work full time or part time. Even if a person is currently enrolled in high school or college, they are counted as part of the labor force if they are 16 or older and employed or unemployed.

Questions about these data?

How is school enrollment defined in the CPS?

People are considered enrolled if they are currently enrolled in a regular school, including day or night school in any type of public, parochial, or other private school. Regular schooling is that which may advance a person toward a high school diploma or a college, university, or professional degree. Such schools include elementary schools, junior or senior high schools, and colleges and universities. Other schooling, including trade schools; on-the-job training; and courses that do not require physical presence in school, such as correspondence courses or other courses of independent study, is included only if the credits granted count towards promotion in regular school.

Are people still considered enrolled if they are not in school during summer months?

No. People who are on summer vacation are not enrolled in school, even if they might return to school later in the year. Only people enrolled in school courses during the summer are counted as enrolled in school in those months.