College Enrollment and Work Activity of High School Graduates News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, April 26, 2023                         USDL-23-0795  

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 -- 2022


In October 2022, 62.0 percent of 2022 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 2022, 76.4 percent were employed.

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.

Highlights from the October 2022 data:

 --Among recent high school graduates ages 16 to 24, college enrollment rates for men
   and women were 57.2 percent and 66.1 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

 --Among 16- to 24-year-olds, 41.9 percent of recent high school dropouts were working
   or looking for work, lower than the labor force participation rate of 69.2 percent
   for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college. (See table 1.)

 --About 16.8 million persons ages 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school--44.1 percent
   of all persons in this age group. (See table 2.)

 --Among 20- to 29-year-olds, 72.6 percent of recent associate degree recipients, 76.4
   percent of recent bachelor's degree recipients, and 82.8 percent of recent advanced
   degree recipients were employed. (See table 3.)

 --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 were 5.7 percent for recent associate
   degree recipients, 8.6 percent for recent bachelor's degree recipients, and 4.1 
   percent for recent advanced degree recipients. (See table 3.)  

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

Of the 3.0 million youth ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January
and October 2022, 1.9 million were enrolled in college in October. The college enrollment
rate of recent high school graduates, at 62.0 percent in October 2022, was little different
from the rate of 61.8 percent in October 2021. In October 2019, prior to the pandemic,
the college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates was 66.2 percent. (See table
1.)

Among 2022 high school graduates ages 16 to 24, the college enrollment rate for young
women, at 66.1 percent in October 2022, continued to be higher than the rate for young
men (57.2 percent). By race and ethnicity, the college enrollment rates in October 2022
were 72.2 percent for Asians, 64.1 percent for Blacks, 61.8 percent for Whites, and 58.1
percent for Hispanics. 

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
2022 was 31.4 percent. The participation rates for male and female graduates enrolled
in college were 31.0 percent and 31.7 percent, respectively.

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2022, more than 9
in 10 were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students were
less likely to be in the labor force (29.3 percent) than were their peers enrolled
part time (71.4 percent).

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college, about 7 in 10 attended 4-year
colleges. Of these students, 27.8 percent participated in the labor force in October 
2022, lower than the 41.1 percent for recent graduates enrolled in 2-year colleges.

Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in October 2022 were about twice
as likely to be in the labor force as graduates enrolled in college (69.2 percent versus
31.4 percent, respectively). For both groups, labor force participation was little
changed from the previous year. The unemployment rate of recent graduates enrolled in
college (11.1 percent) was lower than the jobless rates for recent high school graduates
not enrolled in college (18.3 percent) and recent high school dropouts (18.5 percent).

Between October 2021 and October 2022, 538,000 young people dropped out of high school.
The labor force participation rate for recent dropouts (41.9 percent) continued to be
much lower than the rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college 
(69.2 percent). 

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

In October 2022, 21.2 million 16- to 24-year-olds, or 55.9 percent of youth, were 
enrolled in high school (9.6 million) or in college (11.6 million). The labor force
participation rate for youth enrolled in school, at 36.8 percent, was little changed
from October 2021 to October 2022. The unemployment rate for youth enrolled in school
(6.1 percent) also changed little from the previous year. (See table 2.)

In October 2022, high school students continued to be less likely than college students
to participate in the labor force (25.1 percent, compared with 46.5 percent). The
participation rates for male and female high school students were 23.1 percent and
27.3 percent, respectively. 

Among college students, those enrolled full time were much less likely to participate
in the labor force in October 2022 than were part-time students (42.4 percent versus
81.0 percent). Students at 4-year colleges were also less likely to be in the labor
force than were students at 2-year schools (44.0 percent versus 55.5 percent). Male
and female college students' participation rates were little different from each other
(45.3 percent and 47.5 percent, respectively). By race and ethnicity, the labor force
participation rate was lower for Asian college students (34.3 percent) than for their
Black (42.8 percent), White (48.3 percent), and Hispanic (52.6 percent) counterparts.

The unemployment rates for high school students and college students in October 2022,
at 7.5 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively, were little changed from the previous year.

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

In October 2022, 16.8 million persons ages 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school. The
labor force participation rate of youth not enrolled in school was 80.0 percent. Among
youth not enrolled in school in October 2022, young men continued to be more likely
than young women to participate in the labor force (83.9 percent, compared with 75.5
percent). (See table 2.)

Labor force participation rates for not-enrolled young men and young women were highest
for those with a bachelor's degree or higher (94.6 percent and 88.3 percent, respectively)
and lowest for young men and young women with less than a high school diploma (68.7
percent and 45.3 percent, respectively).

The unemployment rate for youth ages 16 to 24 not enrolled in school, at 8.6 percent
in October 2022, changed little over the year. Among not-enrolled youth who did not
have a high school diploma, unemployment rates in October 2022 were 12.9 percent for
young men and 17.6 percent for young women. The jobless rates of young men and young
women with at least a bachelor's degree were 6.7 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
Among youth not enrolled in school, the unemployment rates were 7.0 percent for Whites,
14.5 percent for Blacks, 9.7 percent for Asians, and 7.6 percent for Hispanics.  

Recent College Graduates (Ages 20 to 29)

Between January and October 2022, 1.0 million 20- to 29-year-olds earned a bachelor's
degree; of these, 775,000 (or 76.4 percent) were employed in October 2022. The 
unemployment rate for recent college graduates with a bachelor's degree, at 8.6 percent,
declined by 4.5 percentage points from the previous year. (See table 3.)

Among recent bachelor's degree recipients, men and women were both employed at similar
rates in October 2022 (76.3 percent and 76.5 percent, respectively). The jobless rate
for female bachelor's degree recipients, at 5.6 percent, was about half the rate of
their male counterparts (12.5 percent).

About one-quarter (or 253,000) of recent bachelor's degree recipients were enrolled
in school in October 2022. These recent graduates who were enrolled in school were 
less likely to be employed than those who were not enrolled (61.7 percent versus 81.3
percent).   

Between January and October 2022, 395,000 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 in October 2022. The unemployment
rate for recent advanced degree recipients was 4.1 percent. 

Recent Associate Degree Recipients (Ages 20 to 29)

Of the 391,000 20- to 29-year-olds who completed an associate degree between January
and October 2022, 72.6 percent were employed in October 2022. The unemployment rate
for recent associate degree recipients was 5.7 percent. (See table 3.)

Recent associate degree recipients ages 20 to 29 were much more likely to have completed
an academic program than a vocational program (64.2 percent, compared with 35.8 
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 2022, 47.1 percent of recent associate degree recipients were enrolled in
school. Of the 184,000 recent recipients who were enrolled in school, 62.5 percent 
were employed. In October 2022, 81.5 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.