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Technical information: Media contact: (202) 691-6378 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ 691-5902 USDL 07-0604 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Thursday, April 26, 2007 COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF 2006 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES In October 2006, 65.8 percent of high school graduates from the class of 2006 were enrolled in colleges or universities, according to data released today by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since 2001, the college enrollment rate for recent high school graduates has been trending upward. 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 2.5 million youth who graduated from high school between October 2005 and October 2006, 1.6 million (65.8 percent) were attending college in October 2006. The college enrollment rate of young women, 66.0 percent, was about the same as that of young men, 65.5 percent. Asians were considerably more likely than whites, blacks, and Hispanics to be enrolled in college in the fall following their high school graduation. Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college, 92.3 percent were full-time students. Of these full-time students, 40.8 percent were in the labor force, either working or looking for work, in October 2006. In contrast, 81.0 percent of part-time college students participated in the labor force. More than 6 in 10 recent high school graduates who were enrolled in college attended 4-year institutions. The labor force participation rate for these students was 35.0 percent, and their unemployment rate was 5.5 percent. In contrast, 58.8 percent of recent high school graduates enrolled in 2-year institutions were in the labor force, and their unemployment rate was 11.5 percent. (See table 1.) Recent high school graduates who were not enrolled in college in the fall of 2006 were more likely than enrolled graduates to be in the labor force (76.4 versus 43.9 percent). The unemployment rate for those not enrolled in college was 25.0 percent in October 2006, compared with 8.5 percent for their counterparts who were enrolled in college (either 2- or 4-year institutions). Between October 2005 and October 2006, about 444,000 young people dropped out of high school. The labor force participation rate for these dropouts (51.4 percent) was considerably lower than the partici- 2 pation rate for recent high school graduates who had not enrolled in college (76.4 percent). The unemployment rate for recent high school dropouts (23.1 percent) was about the same as that for recent high school graduates who were not enrolled in college (25.0 percent). Among recent high school dropouts, young men were more likely than young women to be participating in the labor force in October 2006 (56.0 and 45.1 percent, respectively). Youth Enrolled in School In October 2006, 20.8 million 16- to 24-year olds were either enrolled in high school (10.3 million) or college (10.5 million). Among high school students, 31.4 percent were engaged in some form of labor force activity in October. Among college students, 49.4 percent of those who were enrolled full time also participated in the labor force, while 85.8 percent of part-time college students were in the labor force. (See table 2.) Overall, the unemployment rate for high school students (14.5 percent) was higher than for college students (5.7 percent). Unemployment rates for black (23.5 percent) and Hispanic (19.3 percent) high school students continued to be higher than for whites (12.2 percent). Among college students, blacks had the highest unemployment rate (11.2 percent), while Hispanic and white college students had rates that were about equal (5.4 and 5.3 percent, respectively). Out-of-School Youth Of the 16.3 million 16- to 24-year olds not enrolled in school in October 2006, 81.8 percent were in the labor force. Among youth not in school, men were more likely than women to be in the labor force, 87.9 percent compared with 75.1 percent. 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 youths who had college degrees were 7.6 percent for men and 5.0 percent for women. In contrast, youths without a high school diploma who were not enrolled in school had unemployment rates of 12.6 percent for men and 25.9 percent for women. Technical Note The estimates in this release were obtained from a supplement to the October 2006 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 2006. 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 infor- mation, 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 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. Table 1. Labor force status of 2006 high school graduates and 2005-06 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2006 (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, 2006 high school graduates 1 ........... 2,495 1,372 55.0 1,148 46.0 224 16.4 1,123 Men ........................................................... Women ..................................................... 1,251 1,243 657 716 52.5 57.5 534 614 42.7 49.3 122 102 18.7 14.2 595 528 White ........................................................ Black or African American ........................ Asian ......................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ....................... 1,987 309 125 353 1,144 150 45 199 57.6 48.7 35.9 56.4 977 97 43 171 49.2 31.4 34.7 48.5 166 53 2 28 14.5 35.6 (2) 13.9 843 158 80 154 Enrolled in college .................................... 1,641 720 43.9 659 40.2 61 8.5 921 Enrolled in 2-year college ....................... Enrolled in 4-year college ....................... 612 1,029 360 360 58.8 35.0 318 340 52.1 33.1 41 20 11.5 5.5 252 669 Full-time students ................................... Part-time students .................................. 1,514 127 617 102 40.8 81.0 569 89 37.6 70.5 48 13 7.7 12.9 897 24 Men ......................................................... Women ................................................... 820 820 316 404 38.5 49.2 287 372 34.9 45.4 30 31 9.3 7.8 504 416 White ...................................................... Black or African American ...................... Asian ....................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 1,322 170 103 206 605 64 33 92 45.7 37.9 31.7 44.6 563 49 32 82 42.5 28.7 30.7 40.0 42 16 1 9 6.9 (2) (2) 10.1 718 105 70 114 Not enrolled in college .............................. 854 652 76.4 489 57.2 163 25.0 202 Men ......................................................... Women ................................................... 431 423 341 312 79.0 73.7 248 241 57.5 57.0 93 70 27.3 22.6 90 111 White ...................................................... Black or African American ...................... Asian ....................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 664 139 22 147 539 86 12 107 81.2 61.9 (2) 72.9 415 48 12 89 62.4 34.7 (2) 60.4 124 38 1 18 23.1 44.0 (2) 17.2 125 53 10 40 Total, 2005-06 high school dropouts 3 ....... 444 228 51.4 176 39.5 53 23.1 216 Men ........................................................... Women ..................................................... 257 187 144 85 56.0 45.1 117 59 45.5 31.4 27 26 18.9 30.4 113 103 White ........................................................ Black or African American ........................ Asian ......................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ....................... 334 79 19 137 178 36 8 64 53.2 45.6 (2) 47.1 144 21 8 47 43.0 26.8 (2) 34.4 34 15 19.2 (2) (2) (2) 156 43 11 72 1 Data refer to persons who graduated from high school between October 2005 and October 2006. 2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000. 3 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2005 and October 2006. NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (white, black or African American, – 17 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 2006. 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 2006 (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 ............................... 37,047 22,300 60.2 20,016 54.0 2,285 10.2 14,746 Enrolled in school ....................................... 20,797 9,001 43.3 8,204 39.4 797 8.9 11,796 Enrolled in high school 1 ........................... 10,315 3,235 31.4 2,767 26.8 468 14.5 7,080 Men ......................................................... Women ................................................... 5,283 5,032 1,587 1,648 30.0 32.7 1,343 1,424 25.4 28.3 244 224 15.4 13.6 3,696 3,384 White ...................................................... Black or African American ...................... Asian ....................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 7,807 1,724 341 1,720 2,639 419 55 342 33.8 24.3 16.1 19.9 2,318 321 48 276 29.7 18.6 14.0 16.1 321 99 7 66 12.2 23.5 (2) 19.3 5,168 1,305 286 1,377 Enrolled in college .................................... 10,482 5,766 55.0 5,437 51.9 329 5.7 4,716 Enrolled in 2-year college ....................... Enrolled in 4-year college ....................... 2,705 7,777 1,753 4,013 64.8 51.6 1,636 3,801 60.5 48.9 117 212 6.7 5.3 952 3,764 Full-time students ................................... Part-time students .................................. 8,869 1,613 4,382 1,384 49.4 85.8 4,129 1,308 46.6 81.1 253 75 5.8 5.4 4,487 230 Men ......................................................... Women ................................................... 4,859 5,623 2,586 3,179 53.2 56.5 2,424 3,013 49.9 53.6 163 166 6.3 5.2 2,273 2,444 White ...................................................... Black or African American ...................... Asian ....................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 8,190 1,303 670 1,198 4,650 635 282 717 56.8 48.7 42.1 59.8 4,405 564 279 678 53.8 43.2 41.7 56.6 245 71 3 39 5.3 11.2 0.9 5.4 3,540 669 388 481 Not enrolled in school ................................. 16 to 19 years ........................................... 20 to 24 years ........................................... 16,250 3,074 13,176 13,299 2,238 11,061 81.8 72.8 84.0 11,811 1,798 10,013 72.7 58.5 76.0 1,488 440 1,048 11.2 19.6 9.5 2,950 836 2,114 Men ........................................................... Less than a high school diploma ............ High school graduates, no college 3 ....... Some college or associate degree ......... Bachelor’s degree and higher 4 .............. 8,564 1,925 4,008 1,674 958 7,530 1,528 3,531 1,567 903 87.9 79.4 88.1 93.7 94.3 6,692 1,335 3,079 1,444 834 78.1 69.4 76.8 86.3 87.1 838 193 452 124 69 11.1 12.6 12.8 7.9 7.6 1,034 397 477 106 55 Women ..................................................... Less than a high school diploma ............ High school graduates, no college 3 ....... Some college or associate degree ......... Bachelor’s degree and higher 4 .............. 7,686 1,506 3,147 1,903 1,130 5,769 796 2,295 1,626 1,052 75.1 52.9 72.9 85.5 93.0 5,119 590 2,008 1,522 999 66.6 39.2 63.8 80.0 88.4 650 206 287 105 53 11.3 25.9 12.5 6.4 5.0 1,916 709 852 276 79 White ........................................................ Black or African American ........................ Asian ......................................................... Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ....................... 12,769 2,418 455 3,518 10,636 1,866 340 2,742 83.3 77.2 74.6 77.9 9,643 1,447 316 2,506 75.5 59.9 69.4 71.2 993 418 23 236 9.3 22.4 6.9 8.6 2,133 552 116 776 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 persons with a high school diploma or equivalent. 4 Includes persons with a bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees. 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 2006.