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June, 1988, Vol. 111, No. 6

The labor market problems
of today's high school dropouts

James P. Markey
Economist, Division of Labor Force Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Of the 4 million young high school dropouts in 1986, 1 in 6 was unemployed; many were not in the labor force at all, and those who were, faced strong competition from high school graduates for limited job opportunities. However, regardless of the measure chosen, there is little conclusive evidence to suggest that there has been significant improvement in the dropout situation over the last two decades.

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