December 28, 2011 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Educational attainment of women in the labor force, 1970–2010

Percent distribution of women in the civilian labor force, aged 25 to 64 years, by educational attainment, 1970–2010
Year	Educational attainment
Year	Less than a high school diploma	High school graduates, no college	Some college, no degree, or associate’s degree	College graduates
1970	33.5	44.3	10.9	11.2
1980	18.4	45.4	17.4	18.7
1990	11.3	42.4	21.9	24.5
2000	8.5	31.6	29.8	30.1
2010	6.8	26.4	30.3	36.4
Note: Due to rounding, the sum of percent distributions may not equal 100. Data for 1970, 1980, and 1990 are for March of each year and the educational attainment categories are based on the number of years of school completed (i.e. less than 4 years of high school, 4 years of high school and no college, 1 to 3 years of college, and 4 years or more of college). Data for 2000 and 2010 are annual averages and refer to the highest diploma or degree received.

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