For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, April 28, 2016 USDL-16-0822 

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 

2015 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES

In October 2015, 69.2 percent of 2015 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 2015 were about twice as likely as enrolled graduates to be working or looking for work 

(72.7 percent compared with 36.0 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 3.0 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 

2015, about 2.1 million (69.2 percent) were enrolled in college in October. The college enrollment rate 

of recent high school graduates in October 2015 was little different from the rate in October 2014 (68.4 

percent). For 2015 high school graduates, the college enrollment rate was 72.6 percent for young women 

and 65.8 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate of recent Asian (83.0 percent) graduates 

was higher than for their White (71.1 percent), Hispanic (68.9 percent), and Black (54.6 percent) 

counterparts. (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 36.0 percent in October 2015. The participation 

rates for male and female graduates enrolled in college were 37.9 percent and 34.3 percent, respectively.

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2015, about 9 in 10 were full-time 

students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students were about half as likely to be in the labor force 

(32.9 percent) as were their peers enrolled part time (69.3 percent).

About 2 in 3 recent high school graduates enrolled in college attended 4-year colleges. Of these students, 

29.5 percent participated in the labor force, compared with 47.3 percent of recent graduates enrolled in 

2-year colleges.

Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in the fall of 2015 were much more likely than 

enrolled graduates to be in the labor force (72.7 percent compared with 36.0 percent). The 
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unemployment rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college was 20.7 percent, higher 

than the rate of 12.6 percent for recent graduates enrolled in college. 

Between October 2014 and October 2015, 521,000 young people dropped out of high school. The labor 

force participation rate for recent dropouts (45.9 percent) was much lower than for recent high school 

graduates not enrolled in college (72.7 percent). The jobless rate for recent high school dropouts was 

19.8 percent, similar to the rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college (20.7 percent).

All Youth Enrolled in High School or College

In October 2015, 57.0 percent of the nation's 16- to -24 year olds, or 21.9 million young people, were 

enrolled in high school (9.6 million) or in college (12.3 million). The labor force participation rate (36.2 

percent) of youth enrolled in school was down from October 2014 to October 2015. The unemployment 

rate for this group (8.8 percent) was also down over the year. (See table 2.)

In October 2015, college students continued to be more likely to participate in the labor force than high 

school students (47.7 percent compared with 21.3 percent). Those attending college full time had a much 

lower labor force participation rate than did part-time students (42.5 percent versus 79.9 percent). For 

high school and college students, Asians were less likely to participate in the labor force than Blacks, 

Whites, or Hispanics. Female college students were more likely to be in the labor force (49.8 percent) 

than their male counterparts (45.4 percent). Labor force participation rates for female and male high 

school students were similar (22.5 percent and 20.2 percent, respectively).

The unemployment rate for high school students, at 14.6 percent in October 2015, was more than twice 

the rate for college students (6.8 percent). Unemployment rates were higher for high school students 

than for college students for Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics. 

All Youth Not Enrolled in School

In October 2015, 16.5 million persons age 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school. The labor force 

participation rate of youth not enrolled in school increased over the year from 78.9 percent to 80.1 

percent. Among youth not enrolled in school in October 2015, young men continued to be more likely 

than young women to participate in the labor force—84.1 percent compared with 75.7 percent. Labor 

force participation rates for not-enrolled men and women were highest for those with a bachelor’s 

degree or higher (95.5 percent and 92.3 percent, respectively) and lowest for men and women with less 

than a high school diploma (65.5 percent and 44.6 percent, respectively). (See table 2.)

The unemployment rate for youth age 16 to 24 not enrolled in school declined over the year from

13.7 percent to 11.7 percent. Among not-enrolled youth who did not have a high school diploma, 

unemployment rates in October 2015 were 27.0 percent for young men and 22.6 percent for young 

women. In contrast, the jobless rates of young men and women with at least a bachelor's degree were

4.5 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively. Black youth not enrolled in school had an unemployment rate 

of 21.6 percent in October 2015, higher than the rates for their White (9.5 percent), Asian (6.5 percent), 

and Hispanic (12.8 percent) counterparts. 
Technical Note

The estimates in this release were obtained from a 

supplement to the October 2015 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 website 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 component of this difference that occurs because 

samples differ by chance is known as sampling error, and 

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.

Additional information about the reliability of data from 

the CPS and 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 2015 high school graduates and 2014-15 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex, race,

and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2015.

[Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian labor force

Total Percent of

population

Employed

Total Percent of

population

Unemployed

Number Rate

Not in labor

force

RECENT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES

Total, 2015 high school graduates1 2,965 1,401 47.3 1,171 39.5 230 16.4 1,563

Men 1,448 742 51.2 628 43.4 114 15.3 706

Women 1,516 659 43.5 543 35.8 116 17.7 857

White 2,286 1,084 47.4 920 40.2 164 15.1 1,202

Black or African American 394 207 52.5 159 40.3 48 23.3 187

Asian 153 41 26.7 37 24.5 3 - 112

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 589 293 49.6 217 36.8 76 25.9 297

Enrolled in college

Total, enrolled in college 2,053 738 36.0 645 31.4 93 12.6 1,314

Enrolled in 2-year college 748 354 47.3 305 40.7 49 14.0 394

Enrolled in 4-year college 1,304 384 29.5 341 26.1 43 11.3 920

Full-time students 1,880 619 32.9 540 28.7 79 12.8 1,262

Part-time students 172 119 69.3 106 61.2 14 11.7 53

Men 953 361 37.9 302 31.7 59 16.3 592

Women 1,100 377 34.3 343 31.2 34 9.0 723

White 1,625 605 37.2 526 32.4 79 13.0 1,020

Black or African American 215 70 32.8 62 28.9 8 - 145

Asian 127 26 20.7 23 18.0 3 - 101

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 406 155 38.1 121 29.8 34 21.7 251

Not enrolled in college

Total, not enrolled in college 912 663 72.7 526 57.7 137 20.7 249

Men 495 381 76.9 326 65.9 55 14.3 114

Women 416 282 67.7 199 47.9 82 29.3 135

White 661 479 72.4 394 59.6 85 17.7 182

Black or African American 179 136 76.1 97 53.9 40 29.2 43

Asian 26 14 - 14 - - - 11

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 184 138 75.2 96 52.2 42 30.6 46

RECENT HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS

Total, 2014-15 high school dropouts2 521 239 45.9 192 36.8 47 19.8 282

Men 281 135 48.1 101 36.0 34 25.2 146

Women 240 104 43.3 91 37.8 13 12.7 136

White 358 172 48.0 150 41.9 22 12.8 186

Black or African American 109 48 44.5 27 24.6 22 - 60

Asian 34 9 - 9 - - - 25

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 145 44 30.1 27 18.4 17 - 101

1 Data refer to persons who graduated from high school in January through October 2015.

2 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2014 and October 2015.

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. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria (values not shown

where base is less than 75,000).
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 2015.

[Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian labor force

Total Percent of

population

Employed

Total Percent of

population

Unemployed

Number Rate

Not in labor

force

Total, 16 to 24 years 38,491 21,190 55.1 18,945 49.2 2,245 10.6 17,302

Enrolled in school

Total, enrolled in school 21,948 7,943 36.2 7,242 33.0 702 8.8 14,005

Enrolled in high school1 9,604 2,050 21.3 1,752 18.2 299 14.6 7,554

Men 4,937 999 20.2 849 17.2 150 15.0 3,939

Women 4,667 1,051 22.5 903 19.3 149 14.1 3,615

White 7,019 1,587 22.6 1,363 19.4 224 14.1 5,431

Black or African American 1,480 251 16.9 213 14.4 37 14.9 1,229

Asian 430 33 7.6 28 6.4 5 - 397

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2,190 383 17.5 304 13.9 79 20.7 1,807

Enrolled in college 12,344 5,893 47.7 5,490 44.5 403 6.8 6,451

Enrolled in 2-year college 3,258 1,870 57.4 1,715 52.6 155 8.3 1,387

Enrolled in 4-year college 9,087 4,023 44.3 3,775 41.5 247 6.2 5,064

Full-time students 10,628 4,522 42.5 4,198 39.5 324 7.2 6,106

Part-time students 1,716 1,371 79.9 1,292 75.3 78 5.7 345

Men 5,785 2,627 45.4 2,396 41.4 231 8.8 3,159

Women 6,559 3,266 49.8 3,094 47.2 172 5.3 3,292

White 9,096 4,544 50.0 4,234 46.5 310 6.8 4,552

Black or African American 1,657 773 46.7 713 43.0 60 7.8 884

Asian 1,046 292 27.9 282 27.0 10 3.4 754

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2,411 1,207 50.0 1,100 45.6 107 8.8 1,205

Not enrolled in school

Total, not enrolled in school 16,543 13,246 80.1 11,703 70.7 1,543 11.7 3,297

16 to 19 years 3,098 2,091 67.5 1,705 55.0 386 18.5 1,007

20 to 24 years 13,445 11,155 83.0 9,998 74.4 1,157 10.4 2,290

Men 8,670 7,289 84.1 6,436 74.2 853 11.7 1,381

Less than a high school diploma 1,220 799 65.5 584 47.9 216 27.0 420

High school graduates, no college 2 4,243 3,578 84.3 3,144 74.1 434 12.1 665

Some college or associate degree 2,101 1,855 88.3 1,699 80.9 156 8.4 247

Bachelor's degree and higher 3 1,106 1,057 95.5 1,009 91.2 48 4.5 49

Women 7,874 5,958 75.7 5,268 66.9 690 11.6 1,916

Less than a high school diploma 1,034 461 44.6 357 34.5 104 22.6 573

High school graduates, no college 2 3,175 2,302 72.5 1,951 61.4 351 15.2 874

Some college or associate degree 2,147 1,796 83.6 1,669 77.7 127 7.1 351

Bachelor's degree and higher 3 1,517 1,399 92.3 1,291 85.1 108 7.7 117

White 12,293 10,001 81.4 9,050 73.6 952 9.5 2,292

Black or African American 2,753 2,117 76.9 1,659 60.3 458 21.6 635

Asian 581 408 70.3 382 65.7 26 6.5 173

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 3,811 2,947 77.3 2,571 67.5 377 12.8 864

1 Includes a small number of persons enrolled in grades below high school.

2 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.

3 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. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria (values not shown

where base is less than 75,000).