Technical information:  (202) 691-6378         USDL 06-514
               http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                               For release:  10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                691-5902         Friday, March 24, 2006
                                     
                                     
    COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF 2005 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
   
   
   In October 2005, 68.6 percent of high school graduates from the class of
2005 were enrolled in colleges or universities, according to data released
today by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The
college enrollment rate for recent high school graduates was a historical
high for the series dating back to 1959.
   
   Information on school enrollment and work activity is collected monthly
in the Current Population Survey (CPS).  Each October, a supplement to the
basic CPS gathers more detailed information on full-time and part-time
enrollment status, level of education, and enrollment status a year earlier.
The CPS is a monthly nationwide survey of about 60,000 households that obtains
information on employment, unemployment, earnings, demographics, and other
characteristics of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over.
Additional information about the October supplement is included in the Tech-
nical Note.
   
Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts
   
   Of the 2.7 million youth who graduated from high school between October
2004 and October 2005, 1.8 million (68.6 percent) were attending college in
October 2005.  The college enrollment rate of young women, 70.4 percent,
continued to exceed that of young men, 66.5 percent.  Asians were more likely
than whites, blacks, and Hispanics to be enrolled in college in the fall
following their high school graduation.

   Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college, 91.2 percent were
full-time students.  Of these full-time students, 44.3 percent were in the
labor force, either working or looking for work, in October 2005.  In contrast,
79.0 percent of part-time college students participated in the labor force.
   
   About two-thirds of the 2005 high school graduates enrolled in college
attended 4-year institutions.  The labor force participation rate for these
students was 39.9 percent, and their unemployment rate was 6.3 percent.  In
contrast, 61.3 percent of the recent high school graduates enrolled in 2-year
institutions were in the labor force, and their unemployment rate was 11.0 per-
cent.  (See table 1.)
   
   Recent high school graduates who were not enrolled in college in the fall
of 2005 were more likely than enrolled graduates to participate in the labor
force (78.5 versus 47.4 percent).  The unemployment rate for those not en-
rolled in college was 20.6 percent in October 2005; the jobless rate for recent
high school graduates enrolled in college was 8.4 percent.
   
   Between October 2004 and October 2005, about 400,000 young people dropped
out of high school.  The labor force participation rate for these dropouts
(57.2 percent) was considerably lower than the participation rate for recent
high school graduates who had not enrolled in college (78.5 percent).  Among
recent high school dropouts, men were more likely than women to be participa-
ting in the labor force in October 2005 (59.7 and 54.0 percent, respectively).
The unemployment rate for recent high school dropouts was 32.9 percent in
October 2005, and the unemployment rate of recent high school graduates who
had not enrolled in college was 20.6 percent.

                                 - 2 -
   
Youth Enrolled in School
   
   In October 2005, 20.9 million 16- to 24-year olds were either enrolled
in high school (9.9 million) or college (11.0 million).  Among high school
students, 31.0 percent were engaged in some form of labor force activity in
October.  Among college students who were enrolled full time, 52.7 percent
participated in the labor force.  In contrast, 88.2 percent of part-time
college students participated in the labor force.  (See table 2.)
   
   Overall, the unemployment rate for high school students (17.0 percent)
was
higher than for college students (6.1 percent).  Unemployment rates for
black (35.0 percent) and Hispanic (24.8 percent) high school students contin-
ued to be higher than for whites (14.9 percent).  Among college students,
blacks had the highest unemployment rate (10.5 percent), while Hispanic and
white college students had similar rates (5.9 and 5.7 percent, respectively).
Asian college students had an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent in October 2005.
   
Out-of-School Youth
   
   Of the 15.9 million 16- to 24-year olds not enrolled in school in
October 2005, 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, 87.5
percent compared with 74.6 percent.  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 rates for youths who had college
degrees were 5.4 percent for men and 3.6 percent for women.  In contrast,
youth without a high school diploma who were not enrolled in school had
unemployment rates of 15.3 percent for men and 21.2 percent for women.
   
Technical Note


   The estimates in this release were obtained from a supplement to the
October 2005 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 2005.

   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 infor-
mation, and error 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 toward 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 2005 high school graduates and 2004-05 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old 
   by school enrollment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2005
   
   (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, 2005 high school graduates                                                                                
      (1).............................    2,675     1,529     57.2      1,320     49.3        209    13.7     1,146 
                                                                                                                    
     Men..............................    1,262       751     59.5        652     51.7         99    13.1       511 
     Women............................    1,414       778     55.0        668     47.2        110    14.2       635 
                                                                                                                    
     White............................    2,147     1,256     58.5      1,106     51.5        149    11.9       891 
     Black or African American........      354       196     55.3        146     41.1         50    25.5       159 
     Asian............................       80        22     27.1         22     27.1         -      (2)        58 
     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.....      390       237     60.6        193     49.4         44    18.5       154 
                                                                                                                    
     Enrolled in college..............    1,834       869     47.4        795     43.4         73     8.4       965 
                                                                                                                    
       Enrolled in 2-year college.....      642       393     61.3        350     54.5         43    11.0       249 
       Enrolled in 4-year college.....    1,192       475     39.9        445     37.4         30     6.3       717 
                                                                                                                    
       Full-time students.............    1,672       741     44.3        676     40.4         65     8.7       931 
       Part-time students.............      162       128     79.0        120     73.8          8     6.6        34 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................      839       406     48.4        364     43.4         42    10.3       433 
       Women..........................      995       463     46.5        431     43.3         31     6.8       533 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................    1,490       728     48.8        674     45.2         54     7.4       762 
       Black or African American......      201        82     40.7         68     33.9         14    16.8       119 
       Asian..........................       70        19      (2)         19      (2)         -      (2)        50 
       Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...      211        96     45.7         91     43.1          6     5.8       114 
                                                                                                                    
     Not enrolled in college..........      841       660     78.5        525     62.4        136    20.6       181 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................      423       345     81.6        288     68.2         57    16.4        78 
       Women..........................      418       315     75.4        236     56.5         79    25.1       103 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................      656       528     80.4        432     65.9         96    18.1       128 
       Black or African American......      153       114     74.4         78     50.7         36    31.9        39 
       Asian..........................       10         2      (2)          2      (2)         -       2)         8 
       Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...      179       140     78.2        102     56.9         38    27.3        39 
                                                                                                                    
   Total, 2004-05 high school dropouts                                                                              
      (3).............................      407       233     57.2        156     38.3         77    32.9       174 
                                                                                                                    
     Men..............................      227       136     59.7         87     38.3         49    35.9        91 
     Women............................      180        97     54.0         69     38.4         28    28.8        83 
                                                                                                                    
     White............................      273       166     61.1        114     41.9         52    31.4       106 
     Black or African American........      114        52     45.4         31     27.6         20     (2)        62 
     Asian............................        7         6      (2)          6      (2)          1     (2)        -  
     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.....       86        55     64.3         39     45.1         17     (2)        31 

     1 Data refer to persons who graduated from high school between October 2004 and October 2005.
     2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.
     3 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2004 and October 2005.
     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 2005.






   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 2005
   
   (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..........   36,761    22,338     60.8     20,032     54.5      2,306    10.3    14,423 
                                                                                                                    
   Enrolled in school.................   20,905     9,442     45.2      8,528     40.8        914     9.7    11,462 
                                                                                                                    
     Enrolled in high school (1)......    9,905     3,075     31.0      2,552     25.8        523    17.0     6,830 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................    5,234     1,528     29.2      1,292     24.7        236    15.4     3,706 
       Women..........................    4,671     1,547     33.1      1,260     27.0        287    18.6     3,123 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................    7,597     2,587     34.1      2,200     29.0        387    14.9     5,010 
       Black or African American......    1,565       292     18.7        190     12.1        102    35.0     1,273 
       Asian..........................      343        74     21.5         70     20.4          4     (2)       269 
       Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...    1,661       391     23.5        294     17.7         97    24.8     1,270 
                                                                                                                    
     Enrolled in college..............   11,000     6,367     57.9      5,976     54.3        391     6.1     4,633 
                                                                                                                    
       Enrolled in 2-year college.....    2,749     1,845     67.1      1,693     61.6        152     8.2       904 
       Enrolled in 4-year college.....    8,250     4,522     54.8      4,282     51.9        240     5.3     3,728 
                                                                                                                    
       Full-time students.............    9,396     4,952     52.7      4,612     49.1        340     6.9     4,443 
       Part-time students.............    1,604     1,414     88.2      1,363     85.0         51     3.6       189 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................    5,034     2,816     55.9      2,620     52.0        196     7.0     2,218 
       Women..........................    5,965     3,551     59.5      3,356     56.3        195     5.5     2,414 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................    8,603     5,169     60.1      4,877     56.7        292     5.7     3,433 
       Black or African American......    1,328       656     49.4        587     44.2         69    10.5       672 
       Asian..........................      715       326     45.6        311     43.5         15     4.6       389 
       Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...    1,243       681     54.8        641     51.6         40     5.9       561 
                                                                                                                    
   Not enrolled in school.............   15,856    12,896     81.3     11,504     72.6      1,392    10.8     2,960 
     16 to 19 years...................    2,884     2,070     71.8      1,681     58.3        389    18.8       813 
     20 to 24 years...................   12,973    10,826     83.5      9,823     75.7      1,003     9.3     2,147 
                                                                                                                    
     Men..............................    8,279     7,240     87.5      6,442     77.8        798    11.0     1,039 
       Less than a high school                                                                                      
        diploma.......................    2,009     1,602     79.8      1,357     67.5        246    15.3       406 
       High school graduates, no                                                                                    
        college (3)...................    3,849     3,381     87.8      3,018     78.4        363    10.7       468 
       Some college or associate                                                                                    
        degree........................    1,713     1,576     92.0      1,424     83.1        153     9.7       137 
       Bachelor's degree and higher...      708       681     96.1        644     90.9         37     5.4        27 
                                                                                                                    
     Women............................    7,578     5,656     74.6      5,062     66.8        594    10.5     1,921 
       Less than a high school                                                                                      
        diploma.......................    1,449       776     53.5        611     42.2        165    21.2       673 
       High school graduates, no                                                                                    
        college (3)...................    3,219     2,355     73.2      2,083     64.7        271    11.5       864 
       Some college or associate                                                                                    
        degree........................    1,861     1,553     83.4      1,430     76.8        123     7.9       308 
       Bachelor's degree and higher...    1,049       973     92.8        938     89.4         35     3.6        76 
                                                                                                                    
     White............................   12,412    10,285     82.9      9,323     75.1        962     9.4     2,127 
     Black or African American........    2,448     1,843     75.3      1,506     61.5        338    18.3       605 
     Asian............................      419       339     81.0        314     74.9         25     7.5        80 
     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.....    3,460     2,663     77.0      2,367     68.4        295    11.1       798 

     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 2005.