Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 08-0559
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, April 25, 2008
COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF
2007 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
In October 2007, 67.2 percent of high school graduates from the class
of 2007 were enrolled in colleges or universities, according to data re-
leased today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of
Labor.
Information on school enrollment and work activity is collected month-
ly in the Current Population Survey (CPS). Each October, a supplement to
the basic CPS gathers more detailed information on employment, unemploy-
ment, 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 nearly 3.0 million youth who graduated from high school between
October 2006 and October 2007, about 2.0 million (67.2 percent) were at-
tending college in October 2007. The college enrollment rates were 68.3
percent for young women and 66.1 percent for young men. (See table 1.)
Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2007,
93.2 percent were enrolled as full-time students. The labor force parti-
cipation rate (the proportion of the population with a job or looking for
work) was 37.3 percent for full-time students and 72.7 percent for part-
time students.
About 64.1 percent of recent high school graduates enrolled in college
were attending 4-year institutions. Of these students, 31.4 percent par-
ticipated in the labor force; in contrast, 54.7 percent of students enrolled
in 2-year institutions were the labor force.
Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in the fall of 2007
were more likely to be in the labor force than enrolled graduates (76.6 per-
cent versus 39.7 percent). The unemployment rate for those not enrolled in
college was 19.9 percent, compared with 9.8 percent for high school graduates
enrolled in college (in either 2-year or 4-year institutions).
Between October 2006 and October 2007, 426,000 people between the ages of
16 and 24 dropped out of high school. Hispanics represented a disproportion-
ately large share of dropouts (27.9 percent).
The labor force participation rate for dropouts was 56.2 percent, compared
with 76.6 percent for those who graduated high school but were not enrolled
in college. Among recent high school dropouts in October 2007, 60.4 percent
of young men and 51.1 percent of young women were in the labor force. The
unemployment rate for recent high school dropouts was 26.9 percent.
Youth Enrolled in School
In October 2007, 21.1 million young people between the ages of 16 and 24,
or 56.2 percent of the 16- to 24-year-old population, were either enrolled in
high school (9.7 million) or in college (11.3 million). (See table 2.)
College students were more likely to work or look for work than high school
students (54.0 percent and 29.4 percent, respectively). Among college students,
the labor force participation rate for part-time students (85.3 percent) was
higher than for full-time students (48.6 percent). Female college students
were more likely to be in the labor force than male college students (56.6 per-
cent versus 51.0 percent).
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The unemployment rate for high school students, at 15.2 percent in October
2007, was more than twice that for college students (5.9 percent). Nearly one-
quarter of black high school students were unemployed (24.6 percent), as were
17.9 percent of Hispanics and 13.4 percent of whites. Among college students,
unemployment rates were 9.9 percent for blacks, 7.0 percent for Asians, 5.0
percent for whites, and 4.3 percent for Hispanics.
Out-of-School Youth
In October 2007, there were 16.4 million youth not enrolled in school. These
out-of-school youth participated in the labor force at a rate of 80.8 percent.
Young men not enrolled in school were more likely to be working or looking for
work than their female counterparts (87.9 percent versus 73.0 percent). Labor
force participation rates among young out-of-school 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 youth not enrolled in school was 11.5 percent in
October 2007. Among the educational attainment categories, unemployment rates
were highest for men and women who were not in school and did not have a high
school diploma (15.7 percent and 19.0 percent, respectively). In contrast,
the unemployment rate among young college graduates was 7.4 percent for men
and 5.4 percent for women. The unemployment rate for black youth not in school,
at 21.5 percent, was more than twice that for white youth and Asian youth who
were not enrolled (9.6 and 9.9 percent, respectively). The unemployment rate
for Hispanic youth not in school was 11.5 percent.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
