College Enrollment and Work Activity of High School Graduates News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, April 26, 2022                        USDL-22-0708

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 RECENT 
                   HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE GRADUATES -- 2021


In October 2021, 61.8 percent of 2021 high school graduates ages 16 to 24 were
enrolled in colleges or universities, little changed from the previous year,
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Among 20- to 29-year-olds
who received a bachelor's degree in 2021, 74.8 percent were employed, up from
67.3 percent in 2020. These data reflect the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic.

Information on school enrollment and employment status 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 recent degree
recipients and school enrollment. In addition to data on recent high school
graduates ages 16 to 24, this news release presents information on recent degree 
recipients ages 20 to 29. For more information, see the Technical Note in this
news release. 

Following are some highlights from the October 2021 data:

 --Among recent high school graduates ages 16 to 24, college enrollment rates for
   men and women were 54.9 percent and 69.5 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

 --Among 16- to 24-year-olds, 39.1 percent of recent high school dropouts were
   working or looking for work, lower than the labor force participation rate
   of 66.9 percent for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college.
   (See table 1.)

 --About 16.7 million persons ages 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school--44.8
   percent of all persons in this age group. (See table 2.)

 --Among 20- to 29-year-olds, 76.7 percent of recent associate degree recipients,
   74.8 percent of recent bachelor's degree recipients, and 81.6 percent of recent
   advanced degree recipients were employed. (See table 3.)

 --About one-fourth of recent bachelor's degree recipients ages 20 to 29 were
   enrolled in school. (See table 3.)

 --Among 20- to 29-year-olds, unemployment rates for recent associate degree
   recipients, recent bachelor's degree recipients, and recent advanced degree
   recipients were 4.5 percent, 13.1 percent, and 2.6 percent, respectively. 
   (See table 3.) 

Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts (Ages 16 to 24)

Of the 2.7 million youth ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between
January and October 2021, 1.7 million were enrolled in college in October. The
college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates, at 61.8 percent in
October 2021, was little different from the rate of 62.7 percent in October 2020.
(See table 1.)

Among 2021 high school graduates ages 16 to 24, the college enrollment rate for
young women, at 69.5 percent in October 2021, continued to be higher than the 
rate for young men (54.9 percent). The college enrollment rate of Asians (85.9
percent) also continued to be higher than the rates for recent Black (61.2 percent),
White (61.0 percent), and Hispanic (58.6 percent) graduates. 

The labor force participation rate (the proportion of the population that is
employed or looking for work) for recent high school graduates enrolled in college
in October 2021 was 33.2 percent. The participation rates for male and female
graduates enrolled in college were 34.9 percent and 31.7 percent, respectively.

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2021, about 9
in 10 were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students 
were less likely to be in the labor force (31.1 percent) than were their peers
enrolled part time (54.1 percent).

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college, 7 in 10 attended 4-year
colleges. Of these students, 27.0 percent participated in the labor force in
October 2021, lower than the 47.7 percent for recent graduates enrolled in 2-year
colleges.

Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in October 2021 were about
twice as likely as enrolled graduates to be in the labor force (66.9 percent 
versus 33.2 percent). For both groups, labor force participation was little
changed from the previous year. The unemployment rate for recent high school
graduates not enrolled in college was 21.6 percent in October 2021, higher than
the rate of 8.5 percent for recent graduates enrolled in college.

Between October 2020 and October 2021, 449,000 young people dropped out of high
school. The labor force participation rate for recent dropouts (39.1 percent)
continued to be much lower than the rate for recent high school graduates not
enrolled in college (66.9 percent). The jobless rate for recent high school
dropouts was 15.6 percent in October 2021; the rate for recent high school
graduates not enrolled in college was 21.6 percent.

All Youth Enrolled in High School or College (Ages 16 to 24)

In October 2021, 20.5 million 16- to 24-year-olds, or 55.2 percent of youth,
were enrolled in high school (9.3 million) or in college (11.2 million). The
labor force participation rate for youth enrolled in school, at 36.6 percent,
was little changed from October 2020 to October 2021. The unemployment rate
(6.2 percent) for youth enrolled in school decreased from the previous year.
(See table 2.)

In October 2021, high school students continued to be less likely than college
students to participate in the labor force (23.2 percent, compared with 47.7 
percent). The participation rates for male and female high school students were
21.5 percent and 25.0 percent, respectively. 

Among college students, those enrolled full time were much less likely to 
participate in the labor force in October 2021 than were part-time students
(42.7 percent versus 83.6 percent). Students at 4-year colleges were also less
likely to be in the labor force than were students at 2-year schools (44.7
percent and 58.3 percent, respectively). Female college students were more
likely to participate in the labor force than their male counterparts (50.2
percent, compared with 44.5 percent). By race and ethnicity, the labor force
participation rate was lower for Asian college students (38.7 percent) than
for their Black (44.3 percent), White (49.2 percent), and Hispanic (51.8
percent) counterparts. 

The unemployment rates for high school students and college students in October
2021, at 8.3 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, decreased from the previous
year.

All Youth Not Enrolled in School (Ages 16 to 24)

In October 2021, 16.7 million persons ages 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school.
The labor force participation rate of youth not enrolled in school, at 79.6 
percent, changed little over the year. Among youth not enrolled in school 
in October 2021, young men continued to be more likely than young women to
participate in the labor force (82.0 percent, compared with 76.7 percent).
Labor force participation rates for not-enrolled young men and young women
were highest for those with a bachelor's degree or higher (94.8 percent and 
92.3 percent, respectively) and lowest for young men and young women with less
than a high school diploma (62.8 percent and 54.1 percent, respectively). 
(See table 2.)

The unemployment rate for youth ages 16 to 24 not enrolled in school, at 9.0
percent in October 2021, decreased over the year. Among not-enrolled youth
who did not have a high school diploma, unemployment rates in October 2021
were 14.0 percent for young men and 19.1 percent for young women. The jobless
rates of young men and young women with at least a bachelor's degree were
9.4 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively. Among youth not enrolled in school,
the unemployment rates for Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics were 7.9
percent, 13.7 percent, 11.8 percent, and 9.8 percent, respectively.

Recent College Graduates (Ages 20 to 29)

Between January and October 2021, 1.3 million 20- to 29-year-olds earned a
bachelor's degree; of these, 940,000 (or 74.8 percent) were employed in
October 2021, up from 67.3 percent in October 2020. The unemployment rate
for recent college graduates with a bachelor's degree, at 13.1 percent,
was little changed from the previous year. (See table 3.)

Among recent bachelor's degree recipients, women were more likely to be
employed than were men in October 2021 (80.0 percent versus 68.0 percent).
The jobless rate for female bachelor's degree recipients, at 7.0 percent,
was about one-third the rate of their male counterparts (20.9 percent).

About one-quarter (or 332,000) of recent bachelor's degree recipients 
were enrolled in school in October 2021. These recent graduates who were
enrolled in school were less likely to be employed than were those who
were not enrolled (61.2 percent versus 79.6 percent).   

Between January and October 2021, 382,000 persons ages 20 to 29 earned 
an advanced degree--that is, a master's, professional, or doctoral degree.
About 8 in 10 of those who recently earned an advanced degree were employed
(81.6 percent). The unemployment rate for recent advanced degree recipients
was 2.6 percent in October 2021, down from 12.6 percent in October 2020.

Recent Associate Degree Recipients (Ages 20 to 29)

Of the 371,000 20- to 29-year-olds who completed an associate degree between
January and October 2021, 76.7 percent were employed in October 2021, up
from 59.2 percent in the previous year. The unemployment rate for recent
associate degree recipients was 4.5 percent in October 2021, down from 15.8
percent in October 2020. (See table 3.)

Recent associate degree recipients ages 20 to 29 were more than twice as
likely to have completed an academic program than a vocational program
(67.9 percent, compared with 32.1 percent). Associate degrees in academic
programs are primarily in the arts and sciences and are often transferable
to a bachelor's degree program, while associate degrees in vocational 
programs prepare graduates for a specific occupation.

In October 2021, 53.1 percent of recent associate degree recipients were 
enrolled in school. Of the 197,000 recent recipients who were enrolled 
in school, 74.3 percent were employed. In October 2021, 79.4 percent
of recent associate degree recipients who were not enrolled in school
were employed.

Technical Note

The estimates in this release were obtained from a supplement to the October 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 CPS 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 in
the civilian noninstitutional population in the calendar week that includes the 12th
of October. Data about recent high school graduates and dropouts and the enrollment
status of youth refer to persons 16 to 24 years of age. Data about recent associate
degree recipients and college graduates refer to persons 20 to 29 years of age.

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Definitions

Definitions of the principal terms used in this release 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 age 16 to 24 who completed high school in
the calendar year of the survey (January through October) are recent high school
graduates.

Recent high school dropouts. Persons age 16 to 24 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.

Recent college graduates. Persons age 20 to 29 who completed a bachelor's 
degree or an advanced degree--that is, a master's, professional (such as law or
medicine), or doctoral degree--in the calendar year of the survey (January 
through October) are recent college graduates. 

Recent associate degree recipients. Persons age 20 to 29 who completed an 
associate degree (either an academic program or a vocational program) in the 
calendar year of the survey (January through October) are recent associate 
degree recipients. Associate degrees in academic programs are primarily in the
arts and sciences and may be transferable to a bachelor's degree program, 
while associate degrees in vocational programs prepare graduates for a specific
occupation.

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 component of this difference that occurs because samples 
differ by chance is known as sampling error, and its 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.

Additional information about the reliability of data from the CPS and 
estimating standard errors is available at 
www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.