JBHE, April 27, 2015

A new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that of the 2.9 million students who graduated from high school in 2014, about 2.0 million, or 68.4 percent, were enrolled in college in October 2014. This includes both full-time and part-time enrollments.

Among 2014 high school graduates, African Americans were more likely to enroll in college by October than their White peers. Nearly 71 percent of 2014 Black high school graduates had enrolled in college by October compared to 67.3 percent of Whites.

Of the 263,000 Black high school graduates in 2014 who were enrolled in college, 67,000, or 25.4 percent, were also employed. About 35.5 percent of new White high school graduates who enrolled in college in 2014 also had jobs.

The unemployment rate (those looking for work who couldn’t find it) for Black high school graduates who were enrolled in college was 30.1 percent. For Whites, new high school graduates who were enrolled in college had an unemployment rate of only 11.1 percent.