Economic News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, April 19, 2012              USDL-12-0716

Technical information:  (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                       COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF
                             2011 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES


In October 2011, 68.3 percent of 2011 high school graduates were enrolled in 
colleges or universities, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. 
Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in October 2011 were more 
likely than enrolled graduates to be working or looking for work (68.7 percent 
compared with 38.8 percent).

Information on school enrollment and work activity is collected monthly in the 
Current Population Survey (CPS), a nationwide survey of about 60,000 households 
that provides information on employment and unemployment. Each October, a 
supplement to the CPS gathers more detailed information about school enrollment, 
such as full- and part-time enrollment status. Additional information about 
the October supplement is included in the Technical Note.

Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts

Of the 3.1 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between 
January and October 2011, about 2.1 million (68.3 percent) were enrolled in 
college in October 2011. The college enrollment rate of recent high school 
graduates was slightly lower than the record high set in October 2009 (70.1 
percent). For 2011 graduates, the college enrollment rate was 72.3 percent 
for young women and 64.6 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate 
of Asian graduates (86.7 percent) was higher than for recent white (67.7 
percent), black (67.5 percent), and Hispanic (66.6 percent) graduates. (See 
table 1.)

The labor force participation rate (the proportion of the population working 
or looking for work) for recent high school graduates enrolled in college 
was 38.8 percent. The participation rates for male and female graduates 
enrolled in college were 36.5 and 41.0 percent, respectively.

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2011, 91.9 
percent were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time 
students were considerably less likely to be in the labor force (35.1 
percent) than were their peers enrolled part time (79.7 percent).

About 6 in 10 recent high school graduates who were enrolled in college 
attended 4-year institutions. Of these students, about a third participated 
in the labor force, compared with about half of recent graduates enrolled in 
2-year colleges.

Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in the fall of 2011 
were more likely than enrolled graduates to be in the labor force (68.7 
percent compared with 38.8 percent). The unemployment rate for recent high 
school graduates not enrolled in school was 33.6 percent, compared with 21.1 
percent for recent graduates enrolled in college.

Between October 2010 and October 2011, 369,000 young people dropped out of 
high school. The labor force participation rate for recent dropouts (55.5 
percent) was lower than for recent high school graduates not enrolled in 
college (68.7 percent). The jobless rate for recent high school dropouts 
was 38.4 percent, compared with 33.6 percent for recent high school 
graduates not enrolled in college.

All Youth Enrolled in High School or College

In October 2011, 58.5 percent of the nation's 16- to 24-year-olds, or 22.4 
million young people, either were enrolled in high school (9.6 million) or 
in college (12.8 million). The labor force participation rate (39.0 percent) 
of youth enrolled in school was essentially unchanged from October 2010 to 
October 2011. The unemployment rate for this group declined over the year 
from 16.8 percent to 14.2 percent. (See table 2.)

In October 2011, college students continued to be more likely to participate 
in the labor force than high school students (51.8 percent compared with 
22.0 percent). About 85 percent of college students were enrolled full time. 
Those attending college full time had a much lower labor force participation 
rate than did part-time students. Asian college students were less likely to 
participate in the labor force than black, white, or Hispanic college students. 
Female college students were somewhat more likely to be in the labor force 
(53.5 percent) than their male counterparts (50.0 percent). Female high school 
students were also more likely to be in the labor force (24.7 percent) than
were males (19.5 percent).

The unemployment rate for high school students, at 25.2 percent in October 2011, 
was more than twice the rate for college students (10.7 percent). Unemployment 
rates for black (38.8 percent) and Hispanic (36.1 percent) high school students 
continued to be higher than for white high school students (22.6 percent).

All Youth Not Enrolled in School

In October 2011, 15.9 million persons age 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school. 
The labor force participation rate of youth not enrolled in school in October 
2011 was 79.6 percent, little changed from a year earlier. Among youth not 
enrolled in school in October 2011, men continued to be more likely than women 
to participate in the labor force--84.8 percent compared with 74.0 percent. 
Labor force participation rates for not-enrolled men and women were highest for
those with at least a bachelor's degree and lowest for those with less than a 
high school diploma. (See table 2.)

The unemployment rate for youths age 16 to 24 not enrolled in school edged down 
from 18.7 percent in October 2010 to 17.5 percent in October 2011. Among youth 
not in school in October 2011, unemployment rates for those without a high school 
diploma were 19.7 percent for young men and 31.2 percent for young women. In 
contrast, the jobless rates for young men and women with at least a bachelor's 
degree were 9.5 percent and 8.0 percent, respectively. Black youth not enrolled 
in school had an unemployment rate of 28.5 percent in October 2011, higher than 
the rates for their white (15.3 percent), Asian (15.1 percent), and Hispanic (18.5 
percent) counterparts.