For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, April 26, 2018 USDL-18-0635

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 RECENT HIGH SCHOOL AND 

COLLEGE GRADUATES — 2017

In October 2017, 66.7 percent of 2017 high school graduates age 16 to 24 were enrolled in colleges or 

universities, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Among persons age 20 to 29 who 

received a bachelor’s degree in 2017, 77.6 percent were employed.

Information on school enrollment and employment status 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 recent degree recipients and school enrollment. In addition to data on recent high 

school graduates, this release for the first time presents information on recent degree recipients age 20 to 

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

Highlights from the October 2017 data:

• Among recent high school graduates age 16 to 24, women remained more likely to be

enrolled in college (71.7 percent) than men (61.1 percent). (See table 1.)

• Among 16- to 24-year-olds, 41.8 percent of recent high school dropouts were working or 

looking for work, lower than the labor force participation rate of 67.4 percent for recent

high school graduates not enrolled in college. (See table 1.)

• About 16.3 million people age 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school—42.7 percent of the total. 

(See table 2.)

• Among 20- to 29-year-olds, 79.8 percent of recent associate degree recipients, 77.6 percent of 

recent bachelor’s degree recipients, and 77.5 percent of recent advanced degree recipients were 

employed. (See table 3.)

• About one-fourth of recent bachelor’s degree recipients age 20 to 29 were enrolled in school.

(See table 3.)

• Among those age 20 to 29, unemployment rates for recent associate degree recipients, recent 

bachelor’s degree recipients, and recent advanced degree recipients were 5.6 percent, 8.3 

percent, and 11.9 percent, respectively. (See table 3.)
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Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts (Age 16 to 24)

Of the 2.9 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 

2017, about 1.9 million (66.7 percent) were enrolled in college in October. The college enrollment rate 

of recent high school graduates in October 2017 was slightly lower than the rate in October 2016 (69.7

percent). (See table 1.)

Among 2017 high school graduates age 16 to 24, the college enrollment rate for young women was 71.7

percent, higher than the rate of 61.1 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate of recent Asian 

graduates (83.0 percent) was higher than for their White (67.1 percent), Hispanic (61.0 percent), and 

Black (59.4 percent) counterparts.

The labor force participation rate (the proportion of the population that is employed or looking for work) 

for recent high school graduates enrolled in college was 39.8 percent. The participation rates for male 

and female graduates enrolled in college were about the same, at 41.2 percent and 38.8 percent, 

respectively.

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2017, 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 

(36.9 percent) as were their peers enrolled part time (74.0 percent).

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

30.3 percent participated in the labor force in October 2017, lower than the 58.4 percent for recent 

graduates enrolled in 2-year colleges.

Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in the fall of 2017 were much more likely than 

enrolled graduates to be in the labor force (67.4 percent, compared with 39.8 percent). The 

unemployment rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college was 16.8 percent, higher 

than the rate of 10.2 percent for recent graduates enrolled in college.

Between October 2016 and October 2017, 530,000 young people dropped out of high school. The labor 

force participation rate for recent dropouts (41.8 percent) was much lower than the rate for recent high 

school graduates not enrolled in college (67.4 percent). The jobless rate for recent high school dropouts 

was 18.9 percent in October 2017, little different from the rate for recent high school graduates not 

enrolled in college (16.8 percent).

All Youth Enrolled in High School or College (Age 16 to 24)

In October 2017, 57.3 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds, or 21.8 million youth, were enrolled in high school 

(9.7 million) or in college (12.1 million). The labor force participation rate for youth enrolled in school, 

at 37.6 percent, increased from October 2016 to October 2017. The unemployment rate (8.0 percent) for 

youth enrolled in school in October 2017 was about unchanged from the previous year. (See table 2.)

In October 2017, high school students continued to be less than half as likely as college students to 

participate in the labor force (22.8 percent, compared with 49.5 percent). In both high school and 

college, female students are more likely to participate in the labor force than their male counterparts.

Among college students, those enrolled full time were much less likely to participate in the labor force 
- 3 -

in October 2017 than were part-time students (43.9 percent versus 85.4 percent). Similarly, students at 

4-year colleges were much less likely to be in the labor force than were students at 2-year schools (46.0 

percent and 60.0 percent, respectively). The labor force participation rate was lower for Asian college 

students (32.7 percent) than for their Black (46.9 percent), Hispanic (53.9 percent), and White (52.4 

percent) counterparts.

The unemployment rate for high school students, at 14.4 percent in October 2017, continued to be 

higher than the rate for college students (5.7 percent).

All Youth Not Enrolled in School (Age 16 to 24)

In October 2017, 16.3 million persons age 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school—42.7 percent of the 

total. The labor force participation rate of youth not enrolled in school, at 79.5 percent, was little 

changed over the year. Among youth not enrolled in school in October 2017, young men continued to be 

more likely than young women to participate in the labor force (83.4 percent, compared with 75.2

percent). Labor force participation rates for not-enrolled men and women were highest for those with a 

bachelor's degree or higher (93.9 percent and 92.3 percent, respectively) and lowest for men and women 

with less than a high school diploma (62.0 percent and 45.7 percent, respectively). (See table 2.)

The unemployment rate for youth age 16 to 24 not enrolled in school, at 9.2 percent, was down by 2.0 

percentage points over the year. Among not-enrolled youth who did not have a high school diploma, 

unemployment rates in October 2017 were 15.1 percent for both young men and young women. In 

contrast, the jobless rates of young men and women with at least a bachelor's degree were 8.8 percent 

and 5.3 percent, respectively. Black youth not enrolled in school had an unemployment rate of 16.1

percent in October 2017, higher than the rates for their Hispanic (9.4 percent), White (7.6 percent), and 

Asian (6.8 percent) counterparts.

Recent College Graduates (Age 20 to 29)

Between January and October 2017, 1.2 million 20- to 29-year-olds earned a bachelor’s degree; of these, 

945,000 (or 77.6 percent) were employed in October 2017. The unemployment rate for recent college 

graduates with a bachelor’s degree was 8.3 percent in October 2017. (See table 3.)

There was little difference in the likelihood of being employed among male and female college 

graduates; 76.1 percent of men and 79.0 percent of women who recently earned a bachelor’s degree 

were employed in October 2017. However, the jobless rate for recent male bachelor’s degree recipients 

was 12.0 percent, more than double the rate of 4.7 percent for their female counterparts.

About one-quarter (or 311,000) of recent bachelor’s degree recipients were enrolled in school in October 

2017. These recent graduates who were enrolled in school were much less likely to be employed than

those who were not enrolled (55.7 percent versus 85.1 percent).

Between January and October 2017, 442,000 20- to 29-year-olds earned an advanced degree—that is, a 

master’s, professional, or doctoral degree. Those who recently earned an advanced degree were about as 

likely as those who recently earned a bachelor’s degree to be employed (77.5 percent, compared with 

77.6 percent). In October 2017, the unemployment rate for recent advanced degree recipients was 11.9 

percent.
- 4 -

Recent Associate Degree Recipients (Age 20 to 29)

Of the 378,000 20- to 29-year-olds who completed an associate degree between January and October

2017, 79.8 percent were employed in October 2017. The unemployment rate for recent associate degree 

recipients was 5.6 percent. (See table 3.)

Recent associate degree recipients age 20 to 29 were more likely to have completed an academic 

program than a vocational program (62 percent and 38 percent, respectively). Associate degrees in 

academic programs are primarily in the arts and sciences and are often transferable to a bachelor’s 

degree program, while associate degrees in vocational programs prepare graduates for a specific 

occupation.

About one-third of recent associate degree recipients were enrolled in school in October 2017. These 

recent graduates who were enrolled in school were less likely to be employed than those who were not 

enrolled (71.0 percent versus 84.7 percent).
Technical Note

The estimates in this release were obtained from a

supplement to the October 2017 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 CPS 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 in the civilian noninstitutional 

population in the calendar week that includes the 12th of 

October. Data about recent high school graduates and 

dropouts and the enrollment status of youth refer to persons 

16 to 24 years of age. Data about recent associate degree 

recipients and college graduates refer to persons 20 to 29 

years of age.

Updated population controls for the CPS 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 its 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

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 age 16 to 24

who completed high school in the calendar year of the survey 

(January through October) are recent high school graduates.

Recent high school dropouts. Persons age 16 to 24 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.

Recent college graduates. Persons age 20 to 29 who 

completed a bachelor’s degree or an advanced degree—that 

is, a master’s, professional (such as law or medicine), or 

doctoral degree—in the calendar year of the survey (January 

through October) are recent college graduates. 

Recent associate degree recipients. Persons age 20 to 

29 who completed an associate degree (either an academic 

program or a vocational program) in the calendar year of the 

survey (January through October) are recent associate degree 

recipients. Associate degrees in academic programs are 

primarily in the arts and sciences and may be transferable to 

a bachelor’s degree program, while associate degrees in 

vocational programs prepare graduates for a specific 

occupation. 
Table 1. Labor force status of 2017 high school graduates and 2016-17 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex, race,

and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2017

[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, 2017 high school graduates1 2,870 1,407 49.0 1,221 42.5 186 13.2 1,463

Men 1,345 712 52.9 604 44.9 108 15.2 633

Women 1,525 695 45.6 617 40.5 78 11.2 830

White 2,142 1,076 50.3 938 43.8 139 12.9 1,065

Black or African American 421 198 47.1 165 39.3 33 16.6 223

Asian 165 62 37.7 58 35.0 5 - 103

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 597 336 56.3 286 47.9 50 15.0 261

Enrolled in college

Total, enrolled in college 1,915 763 39.8 685 35.8 78 10.2 1,152

Enrolled in 2-year college 648 378 58.4 346 53.5 32 8.4 269

Enrolled in 4-year college 1,267 384 30.3 338 26.7 46 11.9 883

Full-time students 1,764 651 36.9 574 32.5 78 11.9 1,113

Part-time students 150 111 74.0 111 74.0 - - 39

Men 822 339 41.2 303 36.8 36 10.6 483

Women 1,093 424 38.8 382 35.0 42 9.9 669

White 1,437 605 42.1 540 37.6 64 10.6 832

Black or African American 250 83 33.2 71 28.4 12 14.5 167

Asian 137 42 30.5 40 29.4 2 - 95

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 364 193 52.8 164 45.1 28 14.7 172

Not enrolled in college

Total, not enrolled in college 955 644 67.4 536 56.1 108 16.8 311

Men 523 373 71.3 301 57.6 72 19.3 150

Women 432 271 62.7 235 54.3 36 13.3 161

White 705 472 66.9 397 56.4 74 15.8 233

Black or African American 171 115 67.4 94 55.2 21 18.2 56

Asian 29 21 - 18 - 3 - 8

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 233 144 61.7 122 52.3 22 15.3 89

RECENT HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS

Total, 2016-17 high school dropouts2 530 222 41.8 180 33.9 42 18.9 308

Men 313 152 48.7 127 40.4 26 17.0 161

Women 217 69 31.9 53 24.5 16 - 148

White 379 184 48.6 151 39.8 33 18.0 195

Black or African American 86 15 17.0 12 13.6 3 - 72

Asian 42 8 - 8 - - - 34

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 162 52 32.3 36 22.3 16 - 110

1 Data refer to persons who graduated from high school in January through October 2017.

2 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2016 and October 2017.

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 2017

[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 38,079 21,151 55.5 19,298 50.7 1,853 8.8 16,928

Enrolled in school

Total, enrolled in school 21,805 8,207 37.6 7,548 34.6 659 8.0 13,597

Enrolled in high school1 9,667 2,202 22.8 1,884 19.5 318 14.4 7,466

Men 5,063 1,060 20.9 874 17.3 186 17.5 4,002

Women 4,605 1,141 24.8 1,010 21.9 132 11.5 3,463

White 6,978 1,698 24.3 1,476 21.1 222 13.1 5,281

Black or African American 1,509 278 18.4 239 15.8 39 14.1 1,231

Asian 499 51 10.3 39 7.8 13 - 448

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2,187 391 17.9 302 13.8 89 22.7 1,797

Enrolled in college 12,137 6,006 49.5 5,664 46.7 342 5.7 6,131

Enrolled in 2-year college 3,009 1,806 60.0 1,686 56.0 120 6.7 1,202

Enrolled in 4-year college 9,129 4,200 46.0 3,978 43.6 221 5.3 4,929

Full-time students 10,502 4,608 43.9 4,319 41.1 289 6.3 5,893

Part-time students 1,636 1,398 85.4 1,345 82.2 52 3.7 238

Men 5,523 2,602 47.1 2,444 44.2 158 6.1 2,921

Women 6,614 3,404 51.5 3,221 48.7 183 5.4 3,211

White 8,831 4,626 52.4 4,389 49.7 237 5.1 4,206

Black or African American 1,613 757 46.9 673 41.7 85 11.2 856

Asian 1,129 369 32.7 353 31.2 16 4.4 760

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2,489 1,340 53.9 1,274 51.2 66 4.9 1,149

Not enrolled in school

Total, not enrolled in school 16,274 12,943 79.5 11,749 72.2 1,194 9.2 3,331

16 to 19 years 3,224 2,044 63.4 1,737 53.9 307 15.0 1,180

20 to 24 years 13,050 10,899 83.5 10,013 76.7 887 8.1 2,150

Men 8,591 7,162 83.4 6,443 75.0 719 10.0 1,429

1,262 782 62.0 664 52.6 118 15.1 480

4,150 3,461 83.4 3,099 74.7 362 10.5 689

1,951 1,766 90.5 1,628 83.5 138 7.8 185

Less than a high school diploma

High school graduates, no college2

Some college or associate degree

Bachelor's degree and higher3 1,228 1,153 93.9 1,052 85.6 101 8.8 75

Women 7,683 5,781 75.2 5,306 69.1 475 8.2 1,902

936 428 45.7 363 38.8 65 15.1 508

3,197 2,246 70.2 2,010 62.9 236 10.5 951

2,014 1,689 83.9 1,591 79.0 98 5.8 325

Less than a high school diploma

High school graduates, no college2

Some college or associate degree

Bachelor's degree and higher3 1,536 1,418 92.3 1,342 87.4 76 5.3 118

White 12,164 9,760 80.2 9,016 74.1 744 7.6 2,404

Black or African American 2,600 2,049 78.8 1,718 66.1 330 16.1 552

Asian 616 451 73.3 421 68.3 31 6.8 165

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 3,892 2,886 74.2 2,614 67.2 272 9.4 1,006

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).
Table 3. Labor force status of 2017 associate degree recipients and college graduates 20 to 29 years old by selected characteristics, October 2017

[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 ASSOCIATE DEGREE RECIPIENTS1

Total, 20 to 29 years 378 320 84.6 302 79.8 18 5.6 58

Men 186 146 78.7 141 75.6 6 3.9 40

Women 192 173 90.3 161 84.0 12 7.0 19

20 to 24 years 244 210 85.7 200 82.0 9 4.4 35

25 to 29 years 133 110 82.5 101 75.9 9 7.9 23

Vocational program 145 117 80.8 109 75.3 8 6.8 28

Academic program 233 202 87.0 192 82.7 10 4.9 30

Enrolled in school 134 101 75.0 95 71.0 5 5.3 34

Not enrolled in school 244 219 89.9 206 84.7 13 5.7 25

RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES2

Total, 20 to 29 years 1,660 1,419 85.5 1,288 77.6 131 9.3 241

Men 796 696 87.5 615 77.2 81 11.7 100

Women 864 723 83.6 673 77.9 50 6.9 141

20 to 24 years 1,156 984 85.1 896 77.5 88 9.0 172

25 to 29 years 505 435 86.2 392 77.7 43 9.9 69

Enrolled in school 373 232 62.1 220 59.0 12 5.0 142

Not enrolled in school 1,287 1,187 92.3 1,067 83.0 120 10.1 99

1,220 1,078 88.4 983 80.6 95 8.8 142

150 125 83.1 98 65.2 27 21.6 25

237 173 73.2 167 70.5 6 3.6 64

White

Black or African American 

 Asian

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 179 148 82.4 144 80.3 4 2.5 32

Bachelor's degree

Total, 20 to 29 years 1,218 1,030 84.6 945 77.6 85 8.3 188

Men 585 506 86.5 445 76.1 61 12.0 79

Women 632 524 82.9 500 79.0 24 4.7 108

20 to 24 years 1,005 852 84.7 775 77.1 77 9.0 153

25 to 29 years 213 178 83.8 170 79.8 8 4.8 34

Enrolled in school 311 181 58.1 173 55.7 7 4.1 130

Not enrolled in school 906 849 93.7 771 85.1 78 9.2 57

Advanced degree3

Total, 20 to 29 years 442 389 87.9 343 77.5 46 11.9 53

Men 210 190 90.4 169 80.5 21 10.9 20

Women 232 199 85.8 174 74.8 25 12.8 33

20 to 24 years 151 132 87.8 121 80.2 11 8.6 18

25 to 29 years 292 257 88.0 222 76.1 35 13.5 35

1 Data refer to persons who received an associate degree in January through October 2017.

2 Data refer to persons who received a bachelor's or higher degree in January through October 2017.

3 Data refer to persons who received a master's, professional, or doctoral degree in January through October 2017.

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.