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1 Technical information: Media contact: (202) 691-6378 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ 691-5902 USDL 05-487 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Friday, March 25, 2005 COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF 2004 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES In October 2004, 66.7 percent of high school graduates from the class of 2004 were enrolled in colleges or universities, according to data released today by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The college enrollment rate for recent high school graduates was almost 3 percentage points higher than a year earlier and approached the historical high for the series (67.0 percent in 1997). Information on school enrollment and work activity is collected monthly in the Current Population Survey (CPS). Each October, a supplement to the basic CPS gathers more detailed information on full-time and part-time enrollment status, level of education, and enrollment status a year earlier. The CPS is a monthly nationwide survey of about 60,000 households that obtains information on employment, unemployment, earnings, demographics, and other characteristics of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over. Additional information about the October supplement is included in the Technical Note. Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts Of the 2.8 million youth who graduated from high school between October 2003 and October 2004, 1.8 million (66.7 percent) were attending college in October 2004. (See table 1.) The enrollment rate of young women, 71.6 percent, continued to exceed that of young men, 61.4 percent. Asian high school graduates (76.0 percent) were more likely than white graduates (68.4 percent) to be enrolled in college. Black and Hispanic or Latino graduates were about equally likely to be college students in the fall—61.1 and 61.9 percent, respectively. Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college, 93.2 percent were full-time students. Of these full-time students, 42.1 percent were employed or looking for work in October 2004. In contrast, 82.4 percent of part-time college students participated in the labor force. Two-thirds of the 2004 high school graduates enrolled in college attended 4-year institutions. The labor force participation rate for these students was 36.5 percent, and their unemployment rate was 11.8 percent. In contrast, 61.1 percent of the recent high school graduates enrolled in 2-year institutions were in the labor force, and their unemployment rate was 15.0 percent. (See table 1.) Recent high school graduates who were not enrolled in college in the fall of 2004 were more likely than enrolled graduates to participate in the labor force (77.5 versus 44.8 percent). The unemployment rate for those not enrolled in college was 20.0 percent in October 2004. Between October 2003 and October 2004, about 500,000 young people dropped out of high school. The labor force participation rate for these dropouts (53.7 percent) was considerably lower than the 2 participation rate for recent high school graduates who had not enrolled in college (77.5 percent). Among recent high school dropouts, men were more likely than women to be participating in the labor force in October 2004 (59.9 versus 45.9 percent). The unemployment rate for high school dropouts was 39.9 percent in October 2004, nearly twice the unemployment rate of high school graduates who had not enrolled in college (20.0 percent). Youth Enrolled in School In October 2004, 20.2 million 16- to 24-year olds were either enrolled in high school (9.4 million) or college (10.8 million). Among high school students, 31.8 percent were engaged in some form of labor force activity in October. The labor force participation rate for high school students hovered around 40 percent throughout the 1990s but has fallen in recent years. Among college students who were enrolled full time, 53.7 percent participated in the labor force. In contrast, 87.0 percent of part-time college students participated in the labor force. (See table 2.) Overall, the unemployment rate for high school students (16.5 percent) was higher than for college students (8.2 percent). Unemployment rates for black (33.3 percent) and Hispanic or Latino (24.4 percent) high school students continued to be higher than for whites (14.3 percent). Among college students, blacks and Asians had the highest unemployment rates (15.3 and 12.8 percent, respectively), while Hispanic or Latino and white college students had similar rates (7.6 and 7.1 percent, respectively). Out-of-School Youth Of the 16.3 million 16- to 24-year olds not enrolled in school in October 2004, 80.8 percent were in the labor force. Among youth not in school, men were more likely than women to be in the labor force. The difference was greatest among those with less than a high school diploma and diminished with more education. (See table 2.) Unemployment rates for youth not in school were lower among those with higher education levels. The unemployment rates for youth who had college degrees were 5.0 percent for men and 5.6 percent for women. In contrast, youth not enrolled in school with less than a high school diploma had unemployment rates of 20.0 percent for men and 23.6 percent for women. Technical Note The estimates in this release were obtained from a supplement to the October 2004 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about 60,000 households which provides information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment for the nation. The survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. Data relate to the school enrollment status of persons 16 to 24 years of age in the civilian noninstitutional population in the calendar week that includes the 12th of the month. Data reflect revised population controls for the Current Population Survey introduced in January 2004. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. 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 exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected, and this 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 90percent 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. For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating standard errors, see the “Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error” section of Employment and Earnings. Concepts The principal concepts used in connection with the school enrollment series 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 toward 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. Table 1. Labor force status of 2004 high school graduates and 2003-04 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2004 (Numbers in thousands) Civilian labor force Characteristic Civilian noninstitutional population Employed Total Percent of population Total Percent of population Unemployed Number Rate Not in labor force Total, 2004 high school graduates 1 ........... 2,752 1,533 55.7 1,282 46.6 251 16.4 1,219 Men ........................................................... Women ..................................................... 1,327 1,425 764 768 57.6 53.9 645 636 48.6 44.6 119 132 15.6 17.2 562 657 White ........................................................ Black or African American ........................ Asian ......................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ....................... 2,111 416 121 286 1,211 204 57 153 57.4 48.9 46.7 53.5 1,037 152 46 129 49.1 36.6 38.0 45.3 174 51 10 23 14.4 25.1 (2) 15.3 900 213 65 133 Enrolled in college .................................... 1,835 821 44.8 712 38.8 109 13.3 1,013 Enrolled in 2-year college ....................... Enrolled in 4-year college ....................... 618 1,217 378 444 61.1 36.5 321 392 51.9 32.2 57 52 15.0 11.8 240 773 Full-time students ................................... Part-time students .................................. 1,711 124 720 102 42.1 82.4 624 88 36.5 71.3 95 14 13.3 13.5 991 22 Men ......................................................... Women ................................................... 815 1,020 347 475 42.6 46.6 293 420 35.9 41.1 54 55 15.6 11.6 468 545 White ...................................................... Black or African American ...................... Asian ....................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 1,444 254 92 177 685 91 33 74 47.5 35.9 35.4 42.0 602 72 27 67 41.7 28.2 29.7 37.8 84 19 5 7 12.2 21.3 (2) (2) 759 163 60 103 Not enrolled in college .............................. 918 711 77.5 569 62.1 142 20.0 206 Men ......................................................... Women ................................................... 512 406 418 294 81.6 72.4 353 217 68.9 53.5 65 77 15.6 26.2 94 112 White ...................................................... Black or African American ...................... Asian ....................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 667 162 29 109 526 112 24 79 78.8 69.4 (2) 72.1 435 81 19 63 65.2 49.8 (2) 57.3 91 32 5 16 17.3 28.2 (2) 20.4 141 49 5 31 Total, 2003-04 high school dropouts 3 ....... 496 267 53.7 160 32.3 106 39.9 229 Men ........................................................... Women ..................................................... 278 218 166 100 59.9 45.9 99 61 35.6 28.1 67 39 40.4 38.9 112 118 White ........................................................ Black or African American ........................ Asian ......................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ....................... 370 91 2 154 196 50 2 87 53.0 54.4 (2) 56.8 140 11 2 61 37.7 12.3 (2) 39.3 56 39 28.8 (2) – 30.7 174 42 – 67 1 Data refer to persons who graduated from high school between October 2003 and October 2004. 2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000. 3 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2003 and October 2004. NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (white, black or African American, – 27 and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Dash represents or rounds to zero. Data reflect revised population controls for the Current Population Survey introduced in January 2004. Table 2. Labor force status of persons 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2004 (Numbers in thousands) Civilian labor force Characteristic Civilian noninstitutional population Employed Total Percent of population Unemployed Total Percent of population Number Rate Not in labor force Total, 16 to 24 years ............................... 36,504 22,484 61.6 19,847 54.4 2,637 11.7 14,020 Enrolled in school ....................................... 20,173 9,293 46.1 8,283 41.1 1,010 10.9 10,880 Enrolled in high school 1 ........................... 9,372 2,982 31.8 2,490 26.6 493 16.5 6,389 Men ......................................................... Women ................................................... 4,913 4,459 1,545 1,437 31.5 32.2 1,258 1,231 25.6 27.6 287 205 18.6 14.3 3,367 3,022 White ...................................................... Black or African American ...................... Asian ....................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 7,138 1,522 358 1,515 2,503 319 52 390 35.1 20.9 14.4 25.7 2,146 213 43 295 30.1 14.0 11.9 19.4 357 106 9 95 14.3 33.3 (2) 24.4 4,635 1,204 306 1,125 Enrolled in college .................................... 10,801 6,311 58.4 5,794 53.6 517 8.2 4,490 Enrolled in 2-year college ....................... Enrolled in 4-year college ....................... 2,684 8,117 1,867 4,444 69.5 54.8 1,673 4,120 62.3 50.8 193 324 10.4 7.3 818 3,672 Full-time students ................................... Part-time students .................................. 9,256 1,545 4,967 1,344 53.7 87.0 4,534 1,260 49.0 81.5 433 84 8.7 6.3 4,289 201 Men ......................................................... Women ................................................... 4,934 5,867 2,751 3,560 55.8 60.7 2,503 3,291 50.7 56.1 248 269 9.0 7.6 2,183 2,307 White ...................................................... Black or African American ...................... Asian ....................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 8,486 1,276 712 1,245 5,130 678 302 758 60.5 53.1 42.4 60.9 4,767 574 263 700 56.2 45.0 37.0 56.2 364 104 39 58 7.1 15.3 12.8 7.6 3,355 598 410 487 Not enrolled in school ................................. 16 to 19 years ........................................... 20 to 24 years ........................................... 16,331 3,210 13,121 13,191 2,322 10,868 80.8 72.4 82.8 11,564 1,858 9,705 70.8 57.9 74.0 1,627 464 1,163 12.3 20.0 10.7 3,140 887 2,253 Men ........................................................... Less than a high school diploma ............ High school graduates, no college 3 ....... Some college or associate degree ......... Bachelor’s degree and higher ................. 8,560 2,140 3,978 1,658 784 7,485 1,668 3,540 1,532 746 87.4 77.9 89.0 92.4 95.1 6,578 1,334 3,110 1,425 708 76.9 62.3 78.2 86.0 90.4 907 334 429 106 37 12.1 20.0 12.1 6.9 5.0 1,075 472 438 126 38 Women ..................................................... Less than a high school diploma ............ High school graduates, no college 3 ....... Some college or associate degree ......... Bachelor’s degree and higher ................. 7,771 1,626 3,265 1,799 1,081 5,706 867 2,384 1,478 976 73.4 53.3 73.0 82.2 90.3 4,986 662 2,050 1,352 921 64.2 40.7 62.8 75.2 85.2 720 205 334 126 55 12.6 23.6 14.0 8.5 5.6 2,066 759 881 321 105 White ........................................................ Black or African American ........................ Asian ......................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ....................... 12,842 2,466 425 3,541 10,486 1,924 333 2,737 81.7 78.0 78.4 77.3 9,441 1,484 296 2,429 73.5 60.2 69.7 68.6 1,045 440 37 308 10.0 22.9 11.1 11.2 2,356 542 92 804 1 Includes a small number of persons enrolled in grades below high school. 2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000. 3 Includes high school diploma or equivalent. NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Data reflect revised population controls for the Current Population Survey introduced in January 2004.