33.6% of Recent High School Grads Not in College Are Unemployed

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.