For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, April 19, 2012 USDL-12-0716
Technical information: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF
2011 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
In October 2011, 68.3 percent of 2011 high school graduates were enrolled in
colleges or universities, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in October 2011 were more
likely than enrolled graduates to be working or looking for work (68.7 percent
compared with 38.8 percent).
Information on school enrollment and work activity is collected monthly in the
Current Population Survey (CPS), a nationwide survey of about 60,000 households
that provides information on employment and unemployment. Each October, a
supplement to the CPS gathers more detailed information about school enrollment,
such as full- and part-time enrollment status. Additional information about
the October supplement is included in the Technical Note.
Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts
Of the 3.1 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between
January and October 2011, about 2.1 million (68.3 percent) were enrolled in
college in October 2011. The college enrollment rate of recent high school
graduates was slightly lower than the record high set in October 2009 (70.1
percent). For 2011 graduates, the college enrollment rate was 72.3 percent
for young women and 64.6 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate
of Asian graduates (86.7 percent) was higher than for recent white (67.7
percent), black (67.5 percent), and Hispanic (66.6 percent) graduates. (See
table 1.)
The labor force participation rate (the proportion of the population working
or looking for work) for recent high school graduates enrolled in college
was 38.8 percent. The participation rates for male and female graduates
enrolled in college were 36.5 and 41.0 percent, respectively.
Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2011, 91.9
percent were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time
students were considerably less likely to be in the labor force (35.1
percent) than were their peers enrolled part time (79.7 percent).
About 6 in 10 recent high school graduates who were enrolled in college
attended 4-year institutions. Of these students, about a third participated
in the labor force, compared with about half of recent graduates enrolled in
2-year colleges.
Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in the fall of 2011
were more likely than enrolled graduates to be in the labor force (68.7
percent compared with 38.8 percent). The unemployment rate for recent high
school graduates not enrolled in school was 33.6 percent, compared with 21.1
percent for recent graduates enrolled in college.
Between October 2010 and October 2011, 369,000 young people dropped out of
high school. The labor force participation rate for recent dropouts (55.5
percent) was lower than for recent high school graduates not enrolled in
college (68.7 percent). The jobless rate for recent high school dropouts
was 38.4 percent, compared with 33.6 percent for recent high school
graduates not enrolled in college.
All Youth Enrolled in High School or College
In October 2011, 58.5 percent of the nation's 16- to 24-year-olds, or 22.4
million young people, either were enrolled in high school (9.6 million) or
in college (12.8 million). The labor force participation rate (39.0 percent)
of youth enrolled in school was essentially unchanged from October 2010 to
October 2011. The unemployment rate for this group declined over the year
from 16.8 percent to 14.2 percent. (See table 2.)
In October 2011, college students continued to be more likely to participate
in the labor force than high school students (51.8 percent compared with
22.0 percent). About 85 percent of college students were enrolled full time.
Those attending college full time had a much lower labor force participation
rate than did part-time students. Asian college students were less likely to
participate in the labor force than black, white, or Hispanic college students.
Female college students were somewhat more likely to be in the labor force
(53.5 percent) than their male counterparts (50.0 percent). Female high school
students were also more likely to be in the labor force (24.7 percent) than
were males (19.5 percent).
The unemployment rate for high school students, at 25.2 percent in October 2011,
was more than twice the rate for college students (10.7 percent). Unemployment
rates for black (38.8 percent) and Hispanic (36.1 percent) high school students
continued to be higher than for white high school students (22.6 percent).
All Youth Not Enrolled in School
In October 2011, 15.9 million persons age 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school.
The labor force participation rate of youth not enrolled in school in October
2011 was 79.6 percent, little changed from a year earlier. Among youth not
enrolled in school in October 2011, men continued to be more likely than women
to participate in the labor force--84.8 percent compared with 74.0 percent.
Labor force participation rates for not-enrolled men and women were highest for
those with at least a bachelor's degree and lowest for those with less than a
high school diploma. (See table 2.)
The unemployment rate for youths age 16 to 24 not enrolled in school edged down
from 18.7 percent in October 2010 to 17.5 percent in October 2011. Among youth
not in school in October 2011, unemployment rates for those without a high school
diploma were 19.7 percent for young men and 31.2 percent for young women. In
contrast, the jobless rates for young men and women with at least a bachelor's
degree were 9.5 percent and 8.0 percent, respectively. Black youth not enrolled
in school had an unemployment rate of 28.5 percent in October 2011, higher than
the rates for their white (15.3 percent), Asian (15.1 percent), and Hispanic (18.5
percent) counterparts.
Technical Note
The estimates in this release were obtained from a supplement to the
October 2011 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about
60,000 eligible households that provides information on the labor force,
employment, and unemployment for the nation. The survey is conducted
monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Data in this release relate to the school enrollment status of persons
16 to 24 years of age in the civilian noninstitutional population in the
calendar week that includes the 12th of October. Updated population con-
trols for the Current Population Survey are introduced annually with the
release of January data. Additional information about population controls
is available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory
impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200;
Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and
nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population,
is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ
from the "true" population values they represent. The exact difference,
or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected,
and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate.
There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an
estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard
errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS
analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.
The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling
error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a
segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all
respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents
to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or
processing of the data.
A full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and
information on estimating standard errors is available at
www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.
Concepts
The principal concepts used in connection with the school
enrollment series are described briefly below.
School enrollment. Respondents were asked whether they were
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.
Full-time and part-time enrollment in college. College students
are classified as attending full time if they were taking 12 hours of
classes or more (or 9 hours of graduate classes) during an average
school week and as part time if they were taking fewer hours.
High school graduation status. Persons who were not enrolled in
school at the time of the survey were asked whether they had graduated
from high school. Those who had graduated were asked when they
completed their high school education. Persons who had not graduated,
that is, school dropouts, were asked when they last attended a regular
school. Those who were enrolled in college at the time of the survey
also were asked when they graduated from high school.
Recent high school graduates. Persons who completed high school in
the calendar year of the survey (January through October) are recent
high school graduates.
Recent high school dropouts. Persons who were not enrolled in
school at the time of the survey, attended school a year earlier, and
did not have a high school diploma are recent dropouts.
Table 1. Labor force status of 2011 high school graduates and 2010-11 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment,
educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2011
(Numbers in thousands)
Civilian labor force
Civilian Not in
Characteristic noninsti- Employed Unemployed labor
tutional Percent of force
population Total population
Total Percent of Number Rate
population
Total, 2011 high school graduates (1)... 3,081 1,487 48.3 1,090 35.4 398 26.7 1,594
Men.................................... 1,607 808 50.3 551 34.3 258 31.9 799
Women.................................. 1,474 679 46.1 539 36.6 140 20.6 795
White.................................. 2,330 1,183 50.8 913 39.2 271 22.9 1,147
Black or African American.............. 483 200 41.4 112 23.2 88 43.9 283
Asian.................................. 143 42 29.6 18 12.3 25 (2) 101
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity........... 623 276 44.3 177 28.4 99 35.9 347
Enrolled in college.................... 2,103 815 38.8 643 30.6 172 21.1 1,288
Enrolled in 2-year college............ 794 397 49.9 303 38.1 94 23.7 397
Enrolled in 4-year college............ 1,309 418 32.0 340 26.0 78 18.6 890
Full-time students.................... 1,932 679 35.1 527 27.3 152 22.4 1,253
Part-time students.................... 170 136 79.7 116 68.3 19 14.3 35
Men................................... 1,038 378 36.5 273 26.3 106 27.9 659
Women................................. 1,065 437 41.0 370 34.8 66 15.2 628
White................................. 1,577 670 42.5 549 34.8 122 18.2 907
Black or African American............. 326 92 28.3 62 19.0 30 33.0 233
Asian................................. 124 30 24.1 12 10.0 17 (2) 94
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.......... 415 155 37.4 103 24.9 52 33.5 260
Not enrolled in college................ 979 672 68.7 447 45.6 226 33.6 306
Men................................... 569 430 75.5 278 48.8 152 35.4 139
Women................................. 409 242 59.2 169 41.2 74 30.4 167
White................................. 753 513 68.2 364 48.4 149 29.0 239
Black or African American............. 158 108 68.4 50 32.0 57 53.3 50
Asian................................. 19 13 (2) 5 (2) 7 (2) 7
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.......... 208 121 58.0 74 35.4 47 39.0 88
Total, 2010-11 high school dropouts (3) 369 205 55.5 126 34.2 79 38.4 164
Men.................................... 200 118 59.1 86 42.8 33 27.5 82
Women.................................. 169 87 51.3 41 24.1 46 53.1 82
White.................................. 266 133 49.8 87 32.8 45 34.2 134
Black or African American.............. 74 49 (2) 32 (2) 17 (2) 25
Asian.................................. 10 10 (2) 5 (2) 5 (2) -
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity........... 96 48 49.6 28 29.0 20 (2) 49
1 Data refer to persons who graduated from high school in January through October 2011.
2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.
3 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2010 and October 2011.
NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not
presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Because of rounding, sums of
individual items may not equal totals.Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Dash
represents or rounds to zero.
Table 2. Labor force status of persons 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or
Latino ethnicity, October 2011
(Numbers in thousands)
Civilian labor force
Civilian Not in
Characteristic noninsti- Employed Unemployed labor
tutional Percent of force
population Total population
Total Percent of Number Rate
population
Total, 16 to 24 years................... 38,276 21,386 55.9 17,932 46.8 3,454 16.2 16,890
Enrolled in school..................... 22,403 8,744 39.0 7,501 33.5 1,243 14.2 13,659
Enrolled in high school (1)........... 9,618 2,116 22.0 1,582 16.5 534 25.2 7,502
Men.................................. 5,010 976 19.5 704 14.1 272 27.9 4,034
Women................................ 4,608 1,140 24.7 878 19.1 262 23.0 3,468
White................................ 7,232 1,764 24.4 1,365 18.9 399 22.6 5,468
Black or African American............ 1,598 263 16.5 161 10.1 102 38.8 1,334
Asian................................ 372 37 10.0 28 7.6 9 (2) 335
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity......... 1,981 300 15.1 192 9.7 108 36.1 1,681
Enrolled in college................... 12,785 6,628 51.8 5,919 46.3 709 10.7 6,158
Enrolled in 2-year college........... 3,685 2,252 61.1 1,941 52.7 311 13.8 1,433
Enrolled in 4-year college........... 9,101 4,375 48.1 3,977 43.7 398 9.1 4,725
Full-time students................... 10,908 5,043 46.2 4,508 41.3 534 10.6 5,866
Part-time students................... 1,877 1,585 84.4 1,410 75.1 174 11.0 292
Men.................................. 6,061 3,028 50.0 2,671 44.1 356 11.8 3,033
Women................................ 6,725 3,600 53.5 3,247 48.3 353 9.8 3,125
White................................ 9,970 5,435 54.5 4,911 49.3 524 9.6 4,536
Black or African American............ 1,670 736 44.1 619 37.1 117 15.9 934
Asian................................ 772 261 33.8 223 28.9 38 14.5 511
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity......... 2,112 1,088 51.5 926 43.9 162 14.9 1,023
Not enrolled in school................. 15,873 12,642 79.6 10,431 65.7 2,212 17.5 3,231
16 to 19 years........................ 2,855 1,930 67.6 1,384 48.5 546 28.3 925
20 to 24 years........................ 13,018 10,713 82.3 9,047 69.5 1,666 15.5 2,305
Men................................... 8,352 7,080 84.8 5,790 69.3 1,290 18.2 1,273
Less than a high school diploma...... 1,532 1,131 73.8 907 59.3 223 19.7 401
High school graduates, no college (3) 3,990 3,348 83.9 2,574 64.5 774 23.1 642
Some college or associate degree..... 1,971 1,772 89.9 1,559 79.1 213 12.0 199
Bachelor's degree and higher (4)..... 859 828 96.4 749 87.2 79 9.5 31
Women................................. 7,521 5,563 74.0 4,641 61.7 922 16.6 1,958
Less than a high school diploma...... 1,222 697 57.0 480 39.3 217 31.2 525
High school graduates, no college (3) 2,986 2,042 68.4 1,654 55.4 389 19.0 943
Some college or associate degree..... 2,073 1,682 81.1 1,457 70.3 225 13.4 392
Bachelor's degree and higher (4)..... 1,240 1,142 92.1 1,051 84.7 92 8.0 98
White................................. 12,265 9,935 81.0 8,414 68.6 1,521 15.3 2,330
Black or African American............. 2,467 1,838 74.5 1,315 53.3 523 28.5 630
Asian................................. 467 353 75.7 300 64.2 53 15.1 114
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.......... 3,600 2,834 78.7 2,309 64.1 525 18.5 766
1 Includes a small number of persons enrolled in grades below high school.
2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.
3 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
4 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not
presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Because of rounding, sums of
individual items may not equal totals. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
United States Department of Labor
