For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, April 28, 2020 USDL-20-0715 Technical information: cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF RECENT HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE GRADUATES -- 2019 In October 2019, 66.2 percent of 2019 high school graduates ages 16 to 24 were enrolled in colleges or universities, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Among 20- to 29-year-olds who received a bachelor's degree in 2019, 76.0 percent were employed. Information on school enrollment and employment status 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 recent degree recipients and school enrollment. In addition to data on recent high school graduates ages 16 to 24, this news release presents information on recent degree recipients ages 20 to 29. For more information, see the Technical Note in this news release. Following are some highlights from the October 2019 data: --Among recent high school graduates ages 16 to 24, college enrollment rates for men and women were 62.0 percent and 69.8 percent, respectively. (See table 1.) --Among 16- to 24-year-olds, 38.2 percent of recent high school dropouts were working or looking for work, lower than the labor force participation rate of 72.2 percent for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college. (See table 1.) --About 16.2 million persons ages 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school-- 42.9 percent of all persons in this age group. (See table 2.) --Among 20- to 29-year-olds, 71.3 percent of recent associate degree recipients, 76.0 percent of recent bachelor's degree recipients, and 82.3 percent of recent advanced degree recipients were employed. (See table 3.) --About one-fourth of recent bachelor's degree recipients ages 20 to 29 were enrolled in school. (See table 3.) --Among 20- to 29-year-olds, unemployment rates for recent associate degree recipients, recent bachelor's degree recipients, and recent advanced degree recipients were 8.7 percent, 8.8 percent, and 12.9 percent, respectively. (See table 3.) Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts (Ages 16 to 24) Of the 3.2 million youth ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2019, 2.1 million (66.2 percent) were enrolled in college in October. The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates in October 2019 was down slightly from the rate in October 2018 (69.1 percent). (See table 1.) Among 2019 high school graduates ages 16 to 24, the college enrollment rate for young women was 69.8 percent in October 2019, compared with 62.0 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate of Asians (89.9 percent) was higher than the rates for recent White (66.9 percent), Hispanic (63.4 percent), and Black (50.7 percent) graduates. The labor force participation rate (the proportion of the population that is employed or looking for work) for recent high school graduates enrolled in college was 37.8 percent. The participation rates for male and female graduates enrolled in college were 35.6 percent and 39.5 percent, respectively. Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2019, about 9 in 10 were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students were less than half as likely to be in the labor force (34.0 percent) as were their peers enrolled part time (78.8 percent). About 2 in 3 recent high school graduates enrolled in college attended 4-year colleges. Of these students, 33.1 percent participated in the labor force in October 2019, lower than the 47.4 percent for recent graduates enrolled in 2-year colleges. In October 2019, labor force participation was much higher for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college (72.2 percent) than for enrolled graduates (37.8 percent). The unemployment rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college was 18.2 percent, higher than the rate of 11.0 percent for recent graduates enrolled in college. Between October 2018 and October 2019, 490,000 young people dropped out of high school. The labor force participation rate for recent dropouts (38.2 percent) was much lower than the rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college (72.2 percent). The jobless rate for recent high school dropouts was 14.8 percent in October 2019; the rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college was 18.2 percent. All Youth Enrolled in High School or College (Ages 16 to 24) In October 2019, 21.5 million 16- to 24-year-olds, or 57.1 percent of youth, were enrolled in high school (9.4 million) or in college (12.2 million). The labor force participation rate for youth enrolled in school, at 38.0 percent, increased from October 2018 to October 2019. The unemployment rate (6.1 percent) for youth enrolled in school changed little from the previous year. (See table 2.) In October 2019, high school students continued to be less likely than college students to participate in the labor force (22.3 percent, compared with 50.2 percent). The participation rates for male and female high school students were 21.0 percent and 23.7 percent, respectively. Among college students, those enrolled full time were much less likely to participate in the labor force in October 2019 than were part-time students (44.5 percent versus 87.2 percent). Students at 4-year colleges were also less likely to be in the labor force than were students at 2-year schools (46.9 percent and 59.8 percent, respectively). Female college students were more likely to participate in the labor force than their male counterparts (53.6 percent, compared with 46.1 percent). By race and ethnicity, the labor force participation rate was lower for Asian college students (36.3 percent) than for their Black (46.5 percent), White (52.2 percent), and Hispanic (55.5 percent) counterparts. The unemployment rate for high school students, at 11.3 percent in October 2019, continued to be higher than the rate for college students (4.3 percent). All Youth Not Enrolled in School (Ages 16 to 24) In October 2019, 16.2 million persons ages 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school. The labor force participation rate of youth not enrolled in school increased over the year to 81.2 percent. Among youth not enrolled in school in October 2019, young men continued to be more likely than young women to participate in the labor force (83.9 percent, compared with 78.1 percent). Labor force participation rates for not-enrolled men and women were highest for those with a bachelor's degree or higher (91.2 percent and 93.5 percent, respectively) and lowest for men and women with less than a high school diploma (63.9 percent and 52.6 percent, respectively). (See table 2.) The unemployment rate for youth ages 16 to 24 not enrolled in school, at 8.6 percent, was little changed over the year. Among not-enrolled youth who did not have a high school diploma, unemployment rates in October 2019 were 16.1 percent for young men and 12.4 percent for young women. The jobless rates of young men and young women with at least a bachelor's degree were 5.8 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively. Among youth not enrolled in school, the unemployment rate was 15.7 percent for Blacks, 9.6 percent for Hispanics, 8.6 percent for Asians, and 7.0 percent for Whites. Recent College Graduates (Ages 20 to 29) Between January and October 2019, 1.1 million 20- to 29-year-olds earned a bachelor's degree; of these, 867,000 (or 76.0 percent) were employed in October 2019. The unemployment rate for recent college graduates with a bachelor's degree, at 8.8 percent, decreased from the previous year. (See table 3.) Female recent bachelor's degree recipients were more likely to be employed than their male counterparts in October 2019 (79.4 percent versus 71.8 percent). The jobless rates for recent female and male bachelor's degree recipients were 7.5 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively. About one-quarter (or 294,000) of recent bachelor's degree recipients were enrolled in school in October 2019. These recent graduates who were enrolled in school were much less likely to be employed than those who were not enrolled (51.9 percent versus 84.4 percent). Between January and October 2019, 364,000 persons ages 20 to 29 earned an advanced degree--that is, a master's, professional, or doctoral degree. About 8 in 10 of those who recently earned an advanced degree were employed (82.3 percent). In October 2019, the unemployment rate for recent advanced degree recipients was 12.9 percent. Recent Associate Degree Recipients (Ages 20 to 29) Of the 360,000 20- to 29-year-olds who completed an associate degree between January and October 2019, 71.3 percent were employed in October 2019. The unemployment rate for recent associate degree recipients was 8.7 percent. (See table 3.) Recent associate degree recipients ages 20 to 29 were more likely to have completed an academic program than a vocational program (67.8 percent, compared with 32.2 percent). Associate degrees in academic programs are primarily in the arts and sciences and are often transferable to a bachelor's degree program, while associate degrees in vocational programs prepare graduates for a specific occupation. In October 2019, 160,000 (or 44.4 percent) recent associate degree recipients were enrolled in school. Of these recent recipients who were enrolled in school, 63.6 percent were employed. In October 2019, 77.4 percent of recent associate degree recipients who were not enrolled in school were employed.