Technical information:  (202) 691-6378     USDL 04-749
               http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                           For release:  10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Tuesday, April 27, 2004
                                     
                                     
    COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF 2003 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
                                     
                                     
   Almost sixty-four percent of high school graduates from the class of
2003 were enrolled in colleges or universities in the fall, according to
data released today by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor
Statistics.  The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates
was little changed over the year and remains near historically high rates.
   
   Information on school enrollment and the work activity of high school
graduates comes from an October supplement to the Current Population Sur-
vey (CPS).  The CPS is a monthly nationwide survey of about 60,000 house-
holds that obtains information on employment, unemployment, earnings, dem-
ographics, and other characteristics of the civilian noninstitutional pop-
ulation age 16 and over.  Additional information about the October supple-
ment is included in the Technical Note.
   
Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts
   
   Of the 2.7 million youth who graduated from high school in 2003, 1.7
million (63.9 percent) were attending college in October.  Young women
continued to be more likely than young men to enter colleges or univer-
sities after high school--66.5 percent versus 61.2 percent.  The enroll-
ment rate for Asian high school graduates (84.1 percent) was much higher 
than for white graduates (65.0 percent).  Black and Hispanic graduates 
were about equally likely to be college students in the fall--58.3 and 
58.6 percent, respectively.  (See table 1.)
   
   Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college, 9 out of 10 were
full-time students, of whom 40.0 percent were in the labor force.  In contrast, 
62.3 percent of part-time college students participated in the labor force.
   
   Two-thirds of the 2003 high school graduates enrolled in college attended 
4-year institutions.  The labor force participation rate for these students 
was 33.5 percent, and their unemployment rate was 16.0 percent.  In contrast, 
57.8 percent of the recent graduates enrolled in 2-year institutions were in 
the labor force, and their unemployment rate was 6.2 percent.
   
   The labor force participation rate was 78.3 percent among high school
graduates who did not enroll in college in the fall of 2003.  The unemploy-
ment rate for this group was 26.2 percent in October 2003, up from 16.9 per-
cent a year earlier.
                                  
                                  - 2 -
   
   Between October 2002 and October 2003, about 460,000 young people dropped 
out of high school.  The labor force participation rate for dropouts (59.3 
percent) was considerably lower than the participation rate for recent high 
school graduates who had not enrolled in college.  Among recent high school 
dropouts, men were more likely than women to be participating in the labor 
force (65.6 versus 52.1 percent).  The unemployment rate for high school 
dropouts was 30.8 percent in October 2003.
   
Youth Enrolled in School
   
   In October 2003, a total of 20.1 million 16- to 24-year olds were either
enrolled in high school (9.6 million) or college (10.5 million).  Among
high school students, 31.4 percent were engaged in some labor force activity
in October.  The labor force participation rate for high school students hov-
ered around 40 percent throughout the 1990s, but has drifted down in recent 
years.  Among college students who were enrolled full time, about half partic-
ipated in the labor force.  In contrast, 83.7 percent of part-time college 
students participated in the labor force.  (See table 2.)
   
   Overall, the unemployment rate for high school students (16.1 percent)
was higher than for college students (6.4 percent).  Unemployment rates for
black (33.2 percent) and Hispanic (22.7 percent) high school students con-
tinued to be higher than for whites (13.0 percent).  Likewise, among college 
students, blacks had the highest unemployment rate (12.8 percent), while 
Hispanics and Asians had similar rates (6.8 and 6.6 percent, respectively).  
The unemployment rate for white college students was 5.7 percent.
   
Out-of-School Youth
   
   Of the 15.9 million 16- to 24-year olds not enrolled in school in
October 2003, 81.3 percent were in the labor force.  Among youth not in
school, men were more likely than women to be in the labor force.  The
difference was greatest among those with less than a high school diploma,
and diminished with more education.  (See table 2.)
   
   Unemployment rates for youth not in school were lower among those with
higher education levels.  The unemployment rate for youth who had college
degrees was 7.2 percent for men and 6.2 percent for women.  In contrast,
youth not enrolled in school with less than a high school diploma had the
highest unemployment rates--18.3 percent for men and 24.8 percent for women.
 
 
 

Technical Note


    The estimates in this release were obtained from a supplement to the
October 2003 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about
60,000 households which provides information on the labor force, employ-
ment, and unemployment for the nation.  The survey is conducted monthly 
for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau.  Data re-
late 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 the month.  Data reflect revised population controls for the 
Current Population Survey introduced in January 2003.
 
    Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

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.
 
    For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and
information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and
Estimates of Error" section of Employment and Earnings.

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.
 
 
 
 

   Table 1.  Labor force status of 2003 high school graduates and 2002-03 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old 
   by school enrollment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2003
   
   (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    
                                                                     Civilian labor force                           
                                                                                                                    
                                        Civilian                                                             Not in 
             Characteristic             noninsti-                            Employed        Unemployed       labor 
                                        tutional           Percent of                                         force 
                                       population   Total  population                                               
                                                                        Total  Percent of   Number   Rate           
                                                                               population                           
                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    
   Total, 2003 high school graduates..    2,677     1,470     54.9      1,190     44.4        280    19.1     1,208 
                                                                                                                    
     Men..............................    1,306       748     57.3        591     45.2        157    21.0       558 
     Women............................    1,372       722     52.6        599     43.7        123    17.1       650 
                                                                                                                    
     White............................    2,106     1,181     56.1      1,020     48.4        161    13.6       925 
     Black or African American........      333       163     49.1         80     24.1         83    50.9       170 
     Asian............................      126        50     39.3         39     30.9         11     (1)        77 
     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.....      314       162     51.6        135     42.9         27    16.9       152 
                                                                                                                    
     Enrolled in college..............    1,711       713     41.7        631     36.9         82    11.5       998 
                                                                                                                    
       Enrolled in 2-year college.....      574       332     57.8        311     54.2         21     6.2       243 
       Enrolled in 4-year college.....    1,137       381     33.5        320     28.1         61    16.0       756 
                                                                                                                    
       Full-time students.............    1,580       631     40.0        559     35.4         72    11.4       949 
       Part-time students.............      131        81     62.3         72     54.9         10    11.9        49 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................      799       339     42.5        294     36.8         45    13.4       459 
       Women..........................      913       374     41.0        338     37.0         36     9.7       539 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................    1,368       586     42.8        525     38.4         60    10.3       782 
       Black or African American......      194        55     28.3         42     21.7         13     (1)       139 
       Asian..........................      106        45     42.6         38     35.8          7     (1)        61 
       Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...      184        67     36.4         60     32.5          7    10.9       117 
                                                                                                                    
     Not enrolled in college..........      966       757     78.3        558     57.8        198    26.2       209 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................      507       409     80.6        297     58.6        111    27.3        98 
       Women..........................      459       348     75.8        261     56.9         87    25.0       111 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................      738       595     80.6        494     66.9        101    16.9       143 
       Black or African American......      139       108     78.1         38     27.5         70    64.8        30 
       Asian..........................       20         5      (1)          1      (1)          3     (1)        16 
       Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...      130        95     73.1         75     57.7         20    21.1        35 
                                                                                                                    
   Total, 2002-03 high school                                                                                       
      dropouts(2).....................      457       271     59.3        187     41.0         84    30.8       186 
                                                                                                                    
     Men..............................      242       159     65.6        106     43.9         53    33.2        83 
     Women............................      215       112     52.1         81     37.8         31    27.6       103 
                                                                                                                    
     White............................      336       215     63.9        157     46.6         58    27.1       121 
     Black or African American........       88        42     47.8         24     26.8         19     (1)        46 
     Asian............................       11       -         -         -         -         -        -         11 
     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.....      124        68     54.5         51     40.7         17     (1)        57 

     1 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.
     2 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2002 and October 2003.
     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.  In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or
   Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race.  Because of rounding,
   sums of individual items may not equal totals.  Dash represents or rounds to zero.  Data reflect revised
   population controls for the Current Population Survey introduced in January 2003.




   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 2003
   
   (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    
                                                                     Civilian labor force                           
                                                                                                                    
                                        Civilian                                                             Not in 
             Characteristic             noninsti-                            Employed        Unemployed       labor 
                                        tutional           Percent of                                         force 
                                       population   Total  population                                               
                                                                        Total  Percent of  Number    Rate           
                                                                               population                           
                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                    
       Total, 16 to 24 years..........   36,017    21,858     60.7     19,304     53.6      2,555    11.7    14,159 
                                                                                                                    
   Enrolled in school.................   20,114     8,932     44.4      8,069     40.1        863     9.7    11,182 
                                                                                                                    
     Enrolled in high school(1).......    9,610     3,019     31.4      2,531     26.3        487    16.1     6,592 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................    5,031     1,562     31.0      1,310     26.0        252    16.1     3,469 
       Women..........................    4,579     1,457     31.8      1,221     26.7        235    16.2     3,122 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................    7,333     2,510     34.2      2,185     29.8        326    13.0     4,823 
       Black or African American......    1,582       351     22.2        234     14.8        116    33.2     1,232 
       Asian..........................      339        55     16.1         39     11.4         16     (2)       284 
       Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...    1,538       340     22.1        263     17.1         77    22.7     1,198 
                                                                                                                    
     Enrolled in college..............   10,503     5,914     56.3      5,538     52.7        376     6.4     4,590 
                                                                                                                    
       Enrolled in 2-year college.....    2,817     1,876     66.6      1,743     61.9        133     7.1       941 
       Enrolled in 4-year college.....    7,686     4,038     52.5      3,795     49.4        243     6.0     3,649 
                                                                                                                    
       Full-time students.............    8,809     4,496     51.0      4,198     47.7        298     6.6     4,313 
       Part-time students.............    1,695     1,418     83.7      1,339     79.0         79     5.5       277 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................    4,751     2,649     55.8      2,467     51.9        182     6.9     2,102 
       Women..........................    5,752     3,265     56.8      3,071     53.4        194     5.9     2,487 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................    8,239     4,798     58.2      4,527     54.9        271     5.7     3,441 
       Black or African American......    1,253       600     47.9        524     41.8         77    12.8       653 
       Asian..........................      709       310     43.8        290     40.9         21     6.6       399 
       Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...    1,124       651     57.9        607     54.0         44     6.8       473 
                                                                                                                    
   Not enrolled in school.............   15,903    12,926     81.3     11,235     70.6      1,691    13.1     2,977 
     16 to 19 years...................    3,112     2,264     72.7      1,761     56.6        503    22.2       849 
     20 to 24 years...................   12,791    10,663     83.4      9,474     74.1      1,189    11.1     2,129 
                                                                                                                    
     Men..............................    8,317     7,266     87.4      6,313     75.9        953    13.1     1,051 
       Less than a high school diploma    2,045     1,620     79.2      1,324     64.7        296    18.3       425 
       High school graduates, no                                                                                    
        college (3)...................    3,852     3,396     88.2      2,938     76.3        458    13.5       456 
       Some college or associate                                                                                    
        degree........................    1,638     1,520     92.8      1,374     83.9        146     9.6       118 
       Bachelor's degree and higher...      782       730     93.3        677     86.6         53     7.2        52 
                                                                                                                    
     Women............................    7,587     5,660     74.6      4,922     64.9        738    13.0     1,926 
       Less than a high school diploma    1,506       765     50.8        575     38.2        190    24.8       742 
       High school graduates, no                                                                                    
        college (3)...................    3,281     2,435     74.2      2,074     63.2        361    14.8       846 
       Some college or associate                                                                                    
        degree........................    1,753     1,503     85.8      1,375     78.5        128     8.5       249 
       Bachelor's degree and higher...    1,046       957     91.5        898     85.8         59     6.2        89 
                                                                                                                    
     White............................   12,570    10,449     83.1      9,350     74.4      1,100    10.5     2,120 
     Black or African American........    2,345     1,742     74.3      1,288     54.9        454    26.1       603 
     Asian............................      400       311     77.6        255     63.8         55    17.8        90 
     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.....    3,440     2,648     77.0      2,323     67.5        325    12.3       792 

     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 high school diploma or equivalent.
     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.  In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or
   Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race.  Because of rounding,
   sums of individual items may not equal totals.  Data reflect revised population controls for the Current
   Population Survey introduced in January 2003.