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Digest of Education Statistics
2007 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Issue of the Digest


Table 376. Labor force status of high school dropouts, by sex and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1980 through 2006
Year, sex, and race or ethnicity Dropouts Dropouts in civilian labor force1  Dropouts
not in
labor force
(in thousands)
Number
(in thousands)
Percent of total Percentage distribution of population Number
(in thousands)
Labor force
participation rate
Unemployed
Employed Unemployed Not in
labor force
Number
(in thousands)
Unemployment rate
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
All dropouts2                                         
1980 739 (44.1) 100.0 (†) 43.6 (2.96) 20.2 (2.41) 36.3 (2.87) 471 (35.2) 63.7 (2.87) 149 (19.9) 31.6 (3.50) 268 (26.6)
1985 612 (42.4) 100.0 (†) 43.5 (3.44) 24.0 (2.98) 32.5 (3.25) 413 (34.8) 67.5 (3.25) 147 (20.9) 35.6 (4.06) 199 (24.2)
1990 405 (35.7) 100.0 (†) 46.9 (4.41) 22.2 (3.69) 31.0 (4.08) 280 (29.7) 69.0 (4.08) 90 (16.9) 32.3 (4.99) 125 (19.9)
1995 604 (43.6) 100.0 (†) 47.7 (3.61) 20.0 (2.91) 32.3 (3.38) 409 (35.9) 67.7 (3.38) 121 (19.6) 29.6 (4.03) 195 (24.8)
2000 515 (28.5) 100.0 (†) 48.7 (2.77) 19.2 (3.01) 32.0 (2.59) 350 (23.5) 68.0 (2.59) 99 (17.2) 28.1 (4.16) 165 (16.2)
2002 401 (25.2) 100.0 (†) 47.4 (3.14) 20.2 (3.48) 32.3 (2.94) 271 (20.7) 67.7 (2.94) 81 (15.6) 29.8 (4.82) 129 (14.3)
2003 457 (26.9) 100.0 (†) 40.9 (2.90) 18.4 (3.14) 40.7 (2.89) 271 (20.7) 59.3 (2.89) 84 (15.9) 30.8 (4.86) 186 (17.2)
2004 496 (39.0) 100.0 (†) 32.5 (3.68) 21.4 (3.24) 46.3 (3.03) 267 (28.6) 53.7 (3.92) 106 (18.1) 39.9 (5.27) 229 (20.5)
2005 407 (35.3) 100.0 (†) 38.3 (4.22) 18.9 (3.42) 42.8 (3.32) 233 (26.7) 57.2 (4.30) 77 (15.4) 32.9 (5.42) 174 (17.9)
2006 445 (36.9) 100.0 (†) 40.3 (4.07) 12.5 (2.75) 47.2 (3.20) 235 (26.8) 52.8 (4.15) 55 (13.1) 23.6 (4.87) 210 (19.6)
                                         
Male                                        
1980 422 (32.8) 57.1 (2.91) 50.2 (3.89) 22.0 (3.23) 27.7 (3.48) 305 (27.9) 72.3 (3.48) 93 (15.4) 30.5 (4.21) 117 (17.3)
1985 321 (30.2) 52.5 (3.41) 50.8 (4.71) 30.5 (4.34) 18.7 (3.67) 261 (27.2) 81.3 (3.67) 98 (16.7) 37.5 (5.06) 60 (13.1)
1990 215 (25.6) 53.1 (4.34) 51.2 (5.96) 29.3 (5.43) 19.8 (4.76) 173 (23.0) 80.2 (4.76) 63 (13.9) 36.2 (6.39) 42 (11.3)
1995 339 (32.1) 56.1 (3.53) 52.8 (4.74) 21.2 (3.89) 26.0 (4.17) 251 (27.7) 74.0 (4.17) 72 (14.8) 28.7 (4.99) 88 (16.4)
2000 295 (29.3) 57.3 (3.73) 56.3 (4.94) 18.3 (3.85) 25.6 (4.35) 220 (25.3) 74.4 (4.35) 54 (12.6) 24.5 (4.96) 76 (14.9)
2002 214 (25.0) 53.4 (4.26) 53.3 (5.84) 16.4 (4.33) 30.5 (5.38) 149 (20.9) 69.5 (5.38) 35 (10.1) 23.4 (5.93) 65 (13.8)
2003 242 (26.6) 53.0 (3.99) 43.8 (5.46) 21.9 (4.55) 34.4 (5.22) 159 (21.6) 65.6 (5.22) 53 (12.5) 33.2 (6.39) 83 (15.6)
2004 278 (28.7) 56.0 (3.84) 35.6 (4.95) 24.1 (4.42) 40.1 (5.07) 166 (22.2) 59.9 (5.07) 67 (14.1) 40.4 (6.56) 112 (18.2)
2005 227 (25.9) 55.8 (4.24) 38.3 (5.56) 21.6 (4.71) 40.3 (5.61) 136 (20.1) 59.7 (5.61) 49 (12.1) 35.9 (7.09) 91 (16.4)
2006 256 (27.6) 57.6 (4.04) 46.3 (5.37) 11.2 (3.39) 42.5 (5.32) 147 (20.9) 57.5 (5.32) 29 (9.2) 19.4 (5.62) 109 (18.0)
                                         
Female                                        
1980 317 (27.5) 42.9 (2.82) 34.7 (4.14) 17.7 (3.31) 47.6 (4.34) 166 (19.9) 52.4 (4.34) 56 (11.6) 33.7 (5.68) 151 (19.0)
1985 291 (27.8) 47.5 (3.30) 35.4 (4.58) 16.8 (3.58) 47.8 (4.79) 152 (20.1) 52.2 (4.79) 49 (11.4) 32.2 (6.20) 139 (19.3)
1990 190 (23.3) 46.9 (4.20) 41.6 (6.05) 14.7 (4.35) 43.7 (6.09) 107 (17.5) 56.3 (6.09) 28 (9.0) 26.1 (7.18) 83 (15.4)
1995 265 (27.5) 43.9 (3.42) 40.8 (5.11) 18.5 (4.04) 40.5 (5.10) 157 (21.2) 59.5 (5.10) 49 (11.8) 30.9 (6.24) 107 (17.5)
2000 220 (24.3) 42.7 (3.58) 39.1 (5.40) 20.5 (4.46) 40.6 (5.43) 131 (18.8) 59.4 (5.43) 45 (11.0) 34.2 (6.80) 90 (15.6)
2002 187 (22.4) 46.6 (4.09) 40.6 (5.89) 24.6 (5.17) 34.4 (5.70) 122 (18.1) 65.6 (5.70) 46 (11.1) 37.6 (7.20) 64 (13.1)
2003 215 (24.0) 47.0 (3.83) 37.7 (5.42) 14.4 (3.93) 47.9 (5.59) 112 (17.4) 52.1 (5.59) 31 (9.1) 27.6 (6.93) 103 (16.6)
2004 218 (24.6) 44.0 (3.72) 28.0 (5.07) 17.9 (4.33) 54.1 (5.63) 100 (16.7) 45.9 (5.63) 39 (10.4) 38.9 (8.13) 118 (18.1)
2005 180 (22.4) 44.2 (4.11) 38.3 (6.04) 15.6 (4.51) 46.0 (6.20) 97 (16.4) 54.0 (6.20) 28 (8.8) 28.8 (7.67) 83 (15.2)
2006 189 (22.9) 42.4 (3.91) 32.3 (5.68) 14.2 (4.24) 53.5 (6.06) 88 (15.6) 46.5 (6.06) 27 (8.6) 30.6 (8.21) 101 (16.8)
                                         
White                                        
19803  580 (39.1) 78.5 (2.46) 49.3 (3.37) 18.3 (2.62) 32.4 (3.16) 392 (32.1) 67.6 (3.16) 106 (16.8) 27.0 (3.66) 188 (22.3)
19853  458 (36.7) 74.8 (3.01) 46.7 (4.00) 25.3 (3.50) 27.9 (3.60) 330 (31.1) 72.1 (3.60) 116 (18.6) 35.2 (4.53) 128 (19.4)
19903  303 (30.9) 74.8 (3.83) 51.2 (5.10) 18.5 (3.98) 30.2 (4.69) 211 (25.8) 69.8 (4.69) 56 (13.4) 26.3 (5.42) 92 (17.0)
1995 316 (31.6) 52.3 (3.61) 51.6 (5.00) 18.3 (3.88) 30.1 (4.59) 221 (26.4) 69.9 (4.59) 58 (13.6) 26.2 (5.29) 95 (17.3)
2000 288 (21.4) 55.9 (2.76) 60.2 (3.63) 16.5 (3.79) 23.4 (3.14) 221 (18.7) 76.6 (3.14) 47 (11.9) 21.5 (4.79) 67 (10.3)
2002 190 (17.4) 47.4 (3.14) 54.3 (4.55) 13.4 (4.28) 32.3 (4.27) 129 (14.3) 67.7 (4.27) 25 (8.7) 19.8 (6.09) 61 (9.9)
2003 226 (18.9) 49.4 (2.95) 48.0 (4.19) 18.2 (4.45) 33.8 (3.97) 149 (15.4) 66.2 (3.97) 41 (11.1) 27.4 (6.33) 76 (11.0)
2004 239 (27.1) 48.2 (3.93) 36.1 (5.44) 14.9 (4.05) 49.0 (4.38) 122 (19.3) 51.0 (5.66) 36 (10.5) 29.2 (7.25) 117 (14.6)
2005 194 (24.4) 47.6 (4.34) 40.3 (6.17) 20.0 (5.05) 39.7 (4.76) 117 (18.9) 60.3 (6.16) 39 (10.9) 33.2 (7.67) 77 (11.9)
2006 214 (25.6) 48.0 (4.15) 48.9 (5.99) 8.2 (3.31) 42.8 (4.58) 122 (19.4) 57.2 (5.93) 18 (7.4) 14.4 (5.59) 92 (13.0)
                                         
Black                                        
19803  146 (20.7) 19.8 (2.52) 22.6 (5.97) 27.4 (6.36) 50.0 (7.13) 73 (14.7) 50.0 (7.13) 40 (10.9) (†) 73 (14.7)
19853  132 (20.9) 21.6 (3.03) 29.5 (7.23) 22.7 (6.64) 47.7 (7.92) 69 (15.1) 52.3 (7.92) 30 (10.0) (†) 63 (14.4)
19903  86 (17.5) 21.2 (3.83) 30.2 (9.34) 34.9 (9.70) 34.7 (9.68) 56 (14.1) 65.3 (9.68) 30 (10.3) (†) 30 (10.3)
1995 104 (19.2) 17.2 (2.90) 33.5 (8.73) 25.8 (8.09) 40.8 (9.09) 62 (14.8) 59.2 (9.09) 27 (9.8) (†) 42 (12.3)
2000 106 (18.7) 20.6 (3.24) 26.7 (7.79) 25.5 (7.68) 47.8 (8.80) 55 (13.5) 52.2 (8.80) 27 (9.4) (†) 51 (12.9)
2002 77 (15.9) 19.1 (3.56) 33.2 (9.77) 35.4 (9.92) 31.3 (9.62) 53 (13.2) 68.7 (9.62) 27 (9.5) (†) 24 (8.9)
2003 81 (16.3) 17.8 (3.25) 29.1 (9.15) 22.9 (8.46) 48.0 (10.06) 42 (11.8) 52.0 (10.06) 19 (7.8) (†) 39 (11.3)
2004 86 (17.2) 17.3 (3.16) 9.9 (5.99) 44.9 (9.97) 45.2 (9.98) 47 (12.7) 54.8 (9.98) 39 (11.5) (†) 39 (11.6)
2005 108 (19.3) 26.5 (4.07) 26.5 (7.89) 16.0 (6.56) 57.5 (8.84) 46 (12.6) 42.5 (8.84) 17 (7.7) (†) 62 (14.6)
2006 69 (15.4) (†) (†) (†) (†) 36 (11.2) (†) 17 (7.6) (†) 33 (10.6)
                                         
Hispanic                                        
1980 91 (19.4) 12.3 (2.46) 47.3 (10.66) 18.7 (8.32) 34.1 (10.12) 60 (15.8) 65.9 (10.12) 17 (8.4) (†) 31 (11.3)
1985 106 (18.7) 17.3 (2.79) 37.7 (8.57) 31.1 (8.19) 31.1 (8.19) 73 (15.5) 68.9 (8.19) 33 (10.5) (†) 33 (10.5)
1990 67 (15.4) 16.5 (3.48) (†) (†) (†) 32 (10.7) (†) 10 (6.0) (†) 35 (11.2)
1995 174 (24.8) 28.8 (3.47) 48.5 (7.15) 20.1 (5.73) 31.4 (6.65) 119 (20.5) 68.6 (6.65) 35 (11.1) 29.3 (7.87) 55 (13.9)
2000 101 (18.2) 19.6 (3.18) 39.0 (8.83) 22.2 (7.52) 38.9 (8.82) 62 (14.3) 61.1 (8.82) 22 (8.6) (†) 39 (11.3)
2002 94 (17.5) 23.4 (3.84) 42.2 (9.25) 24.3 (8.03) 33.5 (8.84) 62 (14.3) 66.5 (8.84) 23 (8.7) (†) 31 (10.2)
2003 124 (20.2) 27.1 (3.77) 40.7 (8.00) 13.8 (5.62) 45.5 (8.11) 68 (14.9) 54.5 (8.11) 17 (7.5) (†) 57 (13.6)
2004 154 (23.0) 31.0 (3.86) 39.3 (7.32) 17.4 (5.68) 43.2 (7.42) 87 (17.3) 56.8 (7.42) 27 (9.6) 30.7 (9.17) 67 (15.1)
2005 86 (17.2) 21.1 (3.76) 45.1 (9.96) 19.2 (7.89) 35.7 (9.59) 55 (13.8) 64.3 (9.59) 17 (7.6) (†) 31 (10.3)
2006 136 (21.6) 30.5 (4.06) 35.3 (7.62) 12.6 (5.29) 52.2 (7.97) 65 (15.0) 47.8 (7.97) 17 (7.7) (†) 71 (15.6)
† Not applicable.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
1 The labor force includes all employed persons plus those seeking employment. The labor force participation rate is the percentage of persons either employed or seeking employment. The unemployment rate is the percentage of persons in the labor force who are seeking employment. 2 Persons 16 to 24 years old who dropped out of school in the 12-month period ending in October of years shown.
3 Includes persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
NOTE: Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutional population. Includes dropouts from any grade, including a small number from elementary and middle schools. Even though the standard errors are large, smaller estimates are shown to permit users to combine categories in various ways. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity unless other­wise noted. Totals include race categories not separately shown. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October, selected years, 1980 through 2006. (This table was prepared August 2007.)

2007 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Issue of the Digest


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