July 20, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Majority of college students work for pay

Over half of college students under the age of 25 worked for pay in October 1998. Of 9.4 million college students, 5.3 million had jobs.

[Chart data—TXT]

Students at 2-year colleges were more likely to be employed than those at 4-year colleges. Nearly two-thirds of the students at 2-year colleges worked for pay (65.5 percent), while just over half of those at 4-year colleges were employed (51.7 percent)

Not surprisingly, part-time college students were much more likely to work for pay than full-time students. In October of last year, 84.1 percent of part-time students below age 25 had jobs, while 50.2 percent of full-time students did.

This information is from a supplement to the October 1998 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly nationwide survey of about 50,000 households that provides basic data on national employment and unemployment. Additional information is available from "College Enrollment and Work Activity of 1998 High School Graduates," news release USDL 99-175.