College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2010 High School Graduates

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, April 8, 2011                    USDL-11-0462

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
                            2010 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES


In October 2010, 68.1 percent of 2010 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 2010 were more
likely than enrolled graduates to be working or looking for work (76.6 percent
compared with 40.0 percent). //HSGEC ZUNI3 Resilio 09262023//

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 3.2 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between
January and October 2010, about 2.2 million (68.1 percent) were enrolled in
college in October 2010. The college enrollment rate of recent high school
graduates was slightly lower than the record high set in October 2009 (70.1
percent). For 2010 graduates, the college enrollment rate was 74.0 percent for
young women and 62.8 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate of
Asians (84.0 percent) was higher than for recent white (68.6 percent), black
(61.4 percent), and Hispanic (59.6 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
40.0 percent. The participation rates for male and female graduates enrolled
in college were about the same (41.1 and 38.9 percent, respectively).

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2010, 90.4
percent were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students
were about half as likely to be in the labor force (36.7 percent) as were their
peers enrolled part time (71.3 percent).

About 6 in 10 recent high school graduates who were enrolled in college attended
4-year institutions. Of these students, 32.0 percent participated in the labor
force, compared with 52.4 percent of recent graduates enrolled in 2-year colleges.

Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in the fall of 2010 were more
likely than enrolled graduates to be in the labor force (76.6 percent compared with
40.0 percent). The unemployment rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled
in school was 33.4 percent, compared with 22.8 percent for recent graduates enrolled
in college.

Between October 2009 and October 2010, 340,000 young people dropped out of high
school. The labor force participation rate for recent dropouts (53.9 percent) was
lower than for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college (76.6 percent).
The jobless rate for recent high school dropouts was 42.7 percent, compared with
33.4 percent for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college.

All Youth Enrolled in High School or College

In October 2010, 58.0 percent of the nation's 16- to -24 year olds, or 22.0 million
young people, either were enrolled in high school (9.6 million) or in college (12.4
million). The labor force participation rate (38.6 percent) and unemployment rate
(16.8 percent) of youth enrolled in school were essentially unchanged from October
2009 to October 2010. (See table 2.)

In October 2010, college students continued to be more likely to participate in the
labor force than high school students (51.3 percent compared with 22.1 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 more likely to be
in the labor force (53.5 percent) than their male counterparts (48.8 percent). Female
high school students were also somewhat more likely to be in the labor force (24.2
percent) than were males (20.1 percent).

The unemployment rate for high school students, at 28.8 percent in October 2010, was
more than twice the rate for college students (12.8 percent). Unemployment rates for
black (49.3 percent) and Hispanic (32.7 percent) high school students continued to be
higher than for white students (24.8 percent).

All Youth Not Enrolled in School

In October 2010, 15.9 million persons age 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school. The
labor force participation rate of youth not enrolled in school was little changed
from a year earlier at 79.4 percent in October 2010. Among youth not enrolled in
school in October 2010, men continued to be more likely than women to participate in
the labor force--83.7 percent compared with 74.8 percent. Labor force participation
rates for not-enrolled men and women were highest for college graduates 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 fell from 20.3
percent in October 2009 to 18.7 percent in October 2010. Among the educational
attainment categories, unemployment rates for youth not in school were in October
2010 highest for those without a high school diploma--27.7 percent for young men
and 31.4 percent for young women. In contrast, the jobless rates for young male
and female college graduates were 9.9 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively. Black
youth not enrolled in school had an unemployment rate of 30.0 percent in October
2010, higher than the rates for their white (16.2 percent), Asian (20.8 percent),
and Hispanic (20.8 percent) counterparts.