34% of 2012 High School Grads Who Aren’t In College Are Unemployed

In October 2012, 66.2 percent of 2012 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 2012 were more likely than enrolled graduates to be working or looking for work (69.6 percent compared with 38.2 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 3.2 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2012, about 2.1 million (66.2 percent) were enrolled in college in October. The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates in October 2012 was little different from the rate in October 2011 (68.3 percent). For 2012 graduates, the college enrollment rate was 71.3 percent for young women and 61.3 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate of Asians (82.2 percent) was higher than for recent white (66.6 percent), black (58.2 percent), and Hispanic (70.3 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 38.2 percent. The participation rates for male and female graduates enrolled in college were 34.4 and 41.6 percent, respectively.

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2012, 87.8 percent were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students were about half as likely to be in the labor force (33.9 percent) as were their peers enrolled part time (69.2 percent).

About 6 in 10 recent high school graduates enrolled in college attended 4-year institutions. Of these students, 30.8 percent participated in the labor force, compared with 47.9 percent of recent graduates enrolled in 2-year colleges.

Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in the fall of 2012 were more likely than enrolled graduates to be in the labor force (69.6 percent compared with 38.2 percent). The unemployment rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in school was 34.4 percent, compared with 17.7 percent for recent graduates enrolled in college.

Between October 2011 and October 2012, 370,000 young people dropped out of high school. The labor force participation rate for recent dropouts (47.2 percent) was lower than for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college (69.6 percent). The jobless rate for recent high school dropouts was 49.6 percent, compared with 34.4 percent for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college.

All Youth Enrolled in High School or College

In October 2012, 58.6 percent of the nation’s 16- to -24 year olds, or 22.7 million young people, were enrolled in high school (10.0 million) or in college (12.7 million). The labor force participation rate (38.4 percent) and unemployment rate (13.7 percent) of youth enrolled in school in October 2012 were essentially unchanged from October 2011.

In October 2012, college students continued to be more likely to participate in the labor force than high school students (50.9 percent compared with 22.5 percent). Those attending college full time had a much lower labor force participation rate than did part-time students (45.7 and 80.7 percent, respectively). For both high school and college students, Asians were less likely to participate in the labor force than blacks, whites, or Hispanics. Female college students were somewhat more likely to be in the labor force (52.0 percent) than their male counterparts (49.6 percent). Female high school students were also somewhat more likely to be in the labor force (24.2 percent) than were males (21.0 percent).

The unemployment rate for high school students, at 23.0 percent in October 2012, was more than twice the rate for college students (10.5 percent). Unemployment rates for black (39.1 percent) and Hispanic (32.7 percent) high school students continued to be higher than for white high school students (19.8 percent).

All Youth Not Enrolled in School

In October 2012, 16.1 million persons age 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school. The labor force participation rate of youth not enrolled in school (79.3 percent) in October 2012 was little different from the rate a year earlier. Among youth not enrolled in school in October 2012, men continued to be more likely than women to participate in the labor force–83.6 percent compared with 74.5 percent. Labor force participation rates for not-enrolled men and women were highest for college graduates (94.1 and 93.8 percent, respectively) and lowest for men and women with less than a high school diploma (73.2 and 50.0 percent, respectively).

The unemployment rate (16.5 percent) for youths age 16 to 24 not enrolled in school in October 2012 was essentially unchanged from October 2011. Among youth not in school in October 2012, unemployment rates for young men and young women without a high school diploma were similar (28.8 and 28.7 percent, respectively). Compared with youth without a high school diploma, the jobless rates of young men and women with at least a bachelor’s degree were much lower–8.0 and 6.2 percent, respectively. Black youth not enrolled in school had an unemployment rate of 29.2 percent in October 2012, higher than the rates for their white (14.1 percent), Asian (13.9 percent), and Hispanic (17.8 percent) counterparts.