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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.