For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, April 19, 2012 USDL-12-0716 

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF 

2011 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES

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. Additional 

information about the October supplement is included in the Technical Note. 

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. 

(See table 1.) 

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. 
- 2 - 

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. 

(See table 2.) 

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. (See table 2.) 

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. 
Technical Note 

The estimates in this release were obtained from a 

supplement to the October 2011 Current Population Survey 

(CPS), a monthly survey of about 60,000 eligible households 

that provides information on the labor force, employment, and 

unemployment for the nation. The survey is conducted 

monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census 

Bureau. Data in this release relate to the school enrollment 

status of persons 16 to 24 years of age in the civilian 

noninstitutional population in the calendar week that includes 

the 12th of October. Updated population controls for the 

Current Population Survey are introduced annually with the 

release of January data. Additional information about 

population controls is available on the BLS Web site at 

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop. 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339. 

Reliability of the estimates 

Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling 

and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire 

population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample 

estimates may differ from the "true" population values they 

represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies 

depending on the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. 

There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, 

that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 

1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of 

sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 

90-percent level of confidence. 

The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. 

Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the 

failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to 

obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability 

or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the 

data. 

A full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS 

and information on estimating standard errors is available at 

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability. 

Concepts 

The principal concepts used in connection with the 

school enrollment series are described briefly below. 

School enrollment. Respondents were asked whether 

they were currently enrolled in a regular school, including day 

or night school in any type of public, parochial, or other 

private school. Regular schooling is that which may advance a 

person toward a high school diploma or a college, university, 

or professional degree. Such schools include elementary 

schools, junior or senior high schools, and colleges and 

universities. 

Other schooling, including trade schools; on-the-job 

training; and courses that do not require physical presence in 

school, such as correspondence courses or other courses of 

independent study, is included only if the credits granted count 

towards promotion in regular school. 

Full-time and part-time enrollment in college. College 

students are classified as attending full time if they were 

taking 12 hours of classes or more (or 9 hours of graduate 

classes) during an average school week and as part time if they 

were taking fewer hours. 

High school graduation status. Persons who were not 

enrolled in school at the time of the survey were asked 

whether they had graduated from high school. Those who had 

graduated were asked when they completed their high school 

education. Persons who had not graduated, that is, school 

dropouts, were asked when they last attended a regular school. 

Those who were enrolled in college at the time of the survey 

also were asked when they graduated from high school. 

Recent high school graduates. Persons who completed 

high school in the calendar year of the survey (January 

through October) are recent high school graduates. 

Recent high school dropouts. Persons who were not 

enrolled in school at the time of the survey, attended school a 

year earlier, and did not have a high school diploma are recent 

dropouts. 
Table 1. Labor force status of 2011 high school graduates and 2010-11 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years

old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2011

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian labor force

Not in

labor

Total force Percent of

population

Employed Unemployed

Total Percent of

population Number Rate

Total, 2011 high school graduates 1 ........... 3,081 1,487 48.3 1,090 35.4 398 26.7 1,594

Men ........................................................... 1,607 808 50.3 551 34.3 258 31.9 799

Women ..................................................... 1,474 679 46.1 539 36.6 140 20.6 795

White ........................................................ 2,330 1,183 50.8 913 39.2 271 22.9 1,147

Black or African American ........................ 483 200 41.4 112 23.2 88 43.9 283

Asian ......................................................... 143 42 29.6 18 12.3 25 2 ( ) 101

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ....................... 623 276 44.3 177 28.4 99 35.9 347

Enrolled in college .................................... 2,103 815 38.8 643 30.6 172 21.1 1,288

Enrolled in 2-year college ....................... 794 397 49.9 303 38.1 94 23.7 397

Enrolled in 4-year college ....................... 1,309 418 32.0 340 26.0 78 18.6 890

Full-time students ................................... 1,932 679 35.1 527 27.3 152 22.4 1,253

Part-time students .................................. 170 136 79.7 116 68.3 19 14.3 35

Men ......................................................... 1,038 378 36.5 273 26.3 106 27.9 659

Women ................................................... 1,065 437 41.0 370 34.8 66 15.2 628

White ...................................................... 1,577 670 42.5 549 34.8 122 18.2 907

Black or African American ...................... 326 92 28.3 62 19.0 30 33.0 233

Asian ....................................................... 124 30 24.1 12 10.0 17 2 ( ) 94

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 415 155 37.4 103 24.9 52 33.5 260

Not enrolled in college .............................. 979 672 68.7 447 45.6 226 33.6 306

Men ......................................................... 569 430 75.5 278 48.8 152 35.4 139

Women ................................................... 409 242 59.2 169 41.2 74 30.4 167

White ...................................................... 753 513 68.2 364 48.4 149 29.0 239

Black or African American ...................... 158 108 68.4 50 32.0 57 53.3 50

Asian ....................................................... 19 13 2 ( ) 5 2 ( ) 7 2 ( ) 7

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 208 121 58.0 74 35.4 47 39.0 88

Total, 2010-11 high school dropouts 3 ........ 369 205 55.5 126 34.2 79 38.4 164

Men ........................................................... 200 118 59.1 86 42.8 33 27.5 82

Women ..................................................... 169 87 51.3 41 24.1 46 53.1 82

White ........................................................ 266 133 49.8 87 32.8 45 34.2 134

Black or African American ........................ 74 49 2 ( ) 32 2 ( ) 17 2 ( ) 25

Asian ......................................................... 10 10 2 ( ) 5 2 ( ) 5 2 () –

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ....................... 96 48 49.6 28 29.0 20 2 ( ) 49

1 Data refer to persons who graduated from high school in

January through October 2011. 2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000. 3 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between

October 2010 and October 2011.

 NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (white, black or African

American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not

presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as

Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Because of rounding, sums

of individual items may not equal totals.Updated population controls

are introduced annually with the release of January data. Dash

represents or rounds to zero. 
Table 2. Labor force status of persons 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment,

sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2011

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian labor force

Not in

labor

Total force Percent of

population

Employed Unemployed

Total Percent of

population Number Rate

Total, 16 to 24 years ................................... 38,276 21,386 55.9 17,932 46.8 3,454 16.2 16,890

Enrolled in school ..................................... 22,403 8,744 39.0 7,501 33.5 1,243 14.2 13,659

Enrolled in high school 1 ......................... 9,618 2,116 22.0 1,582 16.5 534 25.2 7,502

Men ....................................................... 5,010 976 19.5 704 14.1 272 27.9 4,034

Women ................................................. 4,608 1,140 24.7 878 19.1 262 23.0 3,468

White .................................................... 7,232 1,764 24.4 1,365 18.9 399 22.6 5,468

Black or African American .................... 1,598 263 16.5 161 10.1 102 38.8 1,334

Asian ..................................................... 372 37 10.0 28 7.6 9 2 ( ) 335

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ................... 1,981 300 15.1 192 9.7 108 36.1 1,681

Enrolled in college .................................. 12,785 6,628 51.8 5,919 46.3 709 10.7 6,158

Enrolled in 2-year college ..................... 3,685 2,252 61.1 1,941 52.7 311 13.8 1,433

Enrolled in 4-year college ..................... 9,101 4,375 48.1 3,977 43.7 398 9.1 4,725

Full-time students ................................. 10,908 5,043 46.2 4,508 41.3 534 10.6 5,866

Part-time students ................................ 1,877 1,585 84.4 1,410 75.1 174 11.0 292

Men ....................................................... 6,061 3,028 50.0 2,671 44.1 356 11.8 3,033

Women ................................................. 6,725 3,600 53.5 3,247 48.3 353 9.8 3,125

White .................................................... 9,970 5,435 54.5 4,911 49.3 524 9.6 4,536

Black or African American .................... 1,670 736 44.1 619 37.1 117 15.9 934

Asian ..................................................... 772 261 33.8 223 28.9 38 14.5 511

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ................... 2,112 1,088 51.5 926 43.9 162 14.9 1,023

Not enrolled in school ............................... 15,873 12,642 79.6 10,431 65.7 2,212 17.5 3,231

16 to 19 years ......................................... 2,855 1,930 67.6 1,384 48.5 546 28.3 925

20 to 24 years ......................................... 13,018 10,713 82.3 9,047 69.5 1,666 15.5 2,305

Men ......................................................... 8,352 7,080 84.8 5,790 69.3 1,290 18.2 1,273

Less than a high school diploma .......... 1,532 1,131 73.8 907 59.3 223 19.7 401

High school graduates, no college 3 ..... 3,990 3,348 83.9 2,574 64.5 774 23.1 642

Some college or associate degree ....... 1,971 1,772 89.9 1,559 79.1 213 12.0 199

Bachelor’s degree and higher 4 ............ 859 828 96.4 749 87.2 79 9.5 31

Women ................................................... 7,521 5,563 74.0 4,641 61.7 922 16.6 1,958

Less than a high school diploma .......... 1,222 697 57.0 480 39.3 217 31.2 525

High school graduates, no college3 ...... 2,986 2,042 68.4 1,654 55.4 389 19.0 943

Some college or associate degree ....... 2,073 1,682 81.1 1,457 70.3 225 13.4 392

Bachelor’s degree and higher 4 ............ 1,240 1,142 92.1 1,051 84.7 92 8.0 98

White ...................................................... 12,265 9,935 81.0 8,414 68.6 1,521 15.3 2,330

Black or African American ...................... 2,467 1,838 74.5 1,315 53.3 523 28.5 630

Asian ....................................................... 467 353 75.7 300 64.2 53 15.1 114

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 3,600 2,834 78.7 2,309 64.1 525 18.5 766

1 Includes a small number of persons enrolled in grades below

high school. 2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000. 3 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent. 4 Includes persons with bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and

doctoral degrees.

 NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (white, black or African

American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not

presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as

Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Because of rounding, sums

of individual items may not equal totals. Updated population controls

are introduced annually with the release of January data.