October 19, 1998 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

More high school graduates enrolling in college

Sixty-seven percent of 1997 high school graduates were enrolled in colleges or universities in the fall. This proportion has risen by 5 percentage points over the last two years, after remaining steady from 1992 to 1995 at about 62 percent.

[Chart data—TXT]

Two-thirds of the new college students were enrolled in 4-year institutions. The remaining one-third attended 2-year colleges.

More than 70 percent of young female high school graduates entered college, compared with 63.5 percent of male graduates. Both white and Hispanic graduates were more likely to be enrolled in college (67.5 and 65.5 percent, respectively) than were blacks (59.6 percent).

This information is from a supplement to the October 1997 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 news release USDL 98-171, "College Enrollment and Work Activity of 1997 High School Graduates".