Labor Market Outcomes for

High School Career and Technical

Education Participants: 2016

DATA POINT

April 2020

NCES 2020-060

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

A Publication of the National Center for Education Statistics at IES

This Data Point examines the early labor market 

outcomes of public high school students, focusing on 

graduates who earned different numbers of credits in 

career and technical education (CTE; see definition in 

figure notes). The Data Point uses data from the High 

School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). HSLS:09 

initially surveyed a national sample of grade 9 students 

in 2009, with follow-up surveys in 2012, 2013, and 2016, 

including a high school transcript collection in 2013. 

This analysis is based on HSLS:09 ninth-graders who 

graduated from public high schools by 2013 and were not 

enrolled in a postsecondary credential program in 2016.

The Data Point examines five 

labor market outcomes measured 

in 2016, 3 years after graduates 

completed high school: labor force 

participation rate, unemployment 

rate, pay, job benefits, and job 

satisfaction. The pay measure 

is whether the graduate earned 

more than $10 per hour.1

 The job 

benefits measure is receipt of health 

insurance and retirement benefits. 

These outcomes are examined 

separately for graduates who 

earned 0.00–0.99, 1.00–2.99, and 

3.00 or more CTE credits during 

high school.

Graduates who earned 3.00

or more CTE credits had a 

lower unemployment rate 

than their peers who earned 

fewer CTE credits.

Regardless of CTE participation 

level, about 9 in 10 graduates 

not enrolled in a postsecondary 

credential program participated in 

the labor force (FIGURE 1).

However, among graduates in the 

labor force, the unemployment rate

for graduates with 3.00 or more 

CTE credits was lower than the 

rates for graduates who earned 

1.00–2.99 CTE credits and graduates 

who earned 0.00–0.99 CTE credits.

FIGURE 1. Among 2013 public high school graduates currently not 

enrolled in a postsecondary credential program, labor force participation 

rate and unemployment rate, by number of career and technical 

education (CTE) credits earned in high school: 2016

 

1 The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the HSLS:09 analysis population 

that is (1) working or (2) not working but actively looking for work. 

2 The unemployment rate is the percentage of the HSLS:09 labor force that is not working 

but actively looking for work. 

NOTE: Public high school graduates are defined as students who graduated from a public 

high school with an honors or standard diploma by August 31 of their scheduled graduation 

year (2013). CTE comprises coursetaking in agriculture and natural resources; business, 

finance, and marketing; communications and communication technologies; computer and 

information sciences; construction; consumer services; engineering, design, and 

production; health care; mechanical repair and operation; and public services. Estimates 

and standard errors are available at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ctes/tables/h247.asp. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center 

for Education Statistics, High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:2009), Base-year, 

2013 Update, Second Follow-up, and High School Transcript File. 

To learn more about the data collection used in this report, visit https://www.nces.gov/surveys/hsls09.

For questions about content or to view this report online, go to http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020060.
Labor Market Outcomes for High School Career and Technical Education Participants: 2016

Higher levels of CTE 

participation were not related 

to job satisfaction or pay, but 

were related to benefits.

Across the three CTE credit 

levels, about 8 out of 10 graduates 

reported they were satisfied with 

their current job and about half 

earned more than $10 per hour 

(FIGURE 2).2

However, public high school 

graduates who earned 3.00 or 

more CTE credits received health 

insurance and retirement benefits at 

a higher rate than their peers who 

earned 1.00–2.99 CTE credits and 

their peers who earned 0.00–0.99

CTE credits.

Endnotes

1

 An hourly wage of $10.01 is 130 percent 

of the 2016 poverty level for a family of 

two living in the 48 contiguous states. This 

130 percent of the poverty level aligns 

with the maximum household income 

for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program (SNAP) eligibility (see 

https://aspe.hhs.gov/computations-2016-

poverty-guidelines).

2

 The median hourly wage was also not 

measurably different for graduates across 

the three CTE credit levels (see https://

nces.ed.gov/surveys/ctes/tables/h250.asp).

FIGURE 2. Among employed 2013 public high school graduates currently not enrolled in a postsecondary credential 

program, percentage with selected job-related outcomes, by number of career and technical education (CTE) credits 

earned in high school: 2016 

 

NOTE: Public high school graduates are defined as students who graduated from a public high school with an honors or standard diploma by 

August 31 of their scheduled graduation year (2013). CTE comprises coursetaking in agriculture and natural resources; business, finance, and 

marketing; communications and communication technologies; computer and information sciences; construction; consumer services; 

engineering, design, and production; health care; mechanical repair and operation; and public services. Estimates exclude the 25 percent of 

nonenrolled public high school graduates who were not employed (either not in the labor force or unemployed). Estimates and standard errors 

are available at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ctes/tables/h252.asp, https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ctes/tables/h253.asp, and https://nces.ed.gov/

surveys/ctes/tables/h254.asp. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, High School Longitudinal 

Study of 2009 (HSLS:2009), Base-year, 2013 Update, Second Follow-up, and High School Transcript File.

This National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Data Point presents information on education topics of current interest. It was authored by Rachel 

Holzwart and Albert Y. Liu of Insight Policy Research. All estimates shown are based on samples and are subject to sampling variability, and apparent 

differences may not be statistically significant. All stated differences are statistically significant at the .05 level, with no adjustments for multiple 

comparisons. In the design, conduct, and data processing of NCES surveys, efforts are made to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors, such as item 

nonresponse, measurement error, data processing error, or other systematic error.