Technical information:  (202) 691-6378     USDL 03-330
               http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                           For release:  10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Wednesday, June 25, 2003


    COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF 2002 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
     
     
   Over sixty-five percent of the high school graduating class of 2002
were enrolled in colleges or universities in the fall, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  This proportion
was 3.5 percentage points higher than a year earlier and was the highest
rate reached since 1998.
   
   Information on school enrollment and the work activity of high school
graduates comes from an October supplement to the Current Population Survey
(CPS).  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 Technical Note.
   
Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts
   
   Among the 2.8 million high school graduates in 2002, 1.8 million (65.2 per-
cent) were enrolled in college the following October.  Young men represented 
50.5 percent of high school graduates in 2002, but accounted for less than 
half of those who enrolled in college.  The college enrollment rate of young 
women (68.4 percent) exceeded that for young men (62.1 percent).  The percent-
age of women attending college following high school graduation has exceeded 
that of men in almost every year since 1988.  White graduates continued to 
enroll in college in greater proportions (66.7 percent) than either black 
(58.7 percent) or Hispanic graduates (53.5 percent).  (See table 1.)
   
   Over 90 percent of recent high school graduates enrolled in college attended 
full time.  Of these full-time students, 42.6 percent were employed or looking 
for work in October 2002, compared with 75.7 percent of part-time college stu-
dents.  Similarly, a much smaller proportion of students attending 4-year in-
stitutions (39.2 percent) participated in the labor force than students attend-
ing 2-year schools (58.0 percent).
   
   Among recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in the fall,
79.7 percent were in the labor force in October 2002.  The unemployment
rate for this group was 16.9 percent.
   
   Between October 2001 and October 2002, about 400,000 persons dropped out
of high school.  Among these high school dropouts, two-thirds were in the
labor force in October 2002.  The unemployment rate for this group was 29.8
percent--almost 13 percentage points higher than the unemployment rate for
recent high school graduates who were not enrolled in college.
   
                                  - 2 -

Youth Enrolled in School
   
   Over half of the nation's 35.5 million 16- to 24-year-olds were enrolled
in school in October 2002.  Over 9 million of these youth were enrolled in
high school, and over 10 million attended college.  College students were
much more likely to work or look for work than were high school students
(56.8 percent and 34.7 percent, respectively).  The unemployment rate for
college students was 7.5 percent--almost half the rate (14.5 percent) for
high school students.  Full-time college students were less likely to be in
the labor force than part-time students, 51.8 percent versus 84.5 percent.
About 3 out of 5 white and Hispanic college students were in the labor
force, compared with less than half of black students.  Among high school
students, whites (38.7 percent) were more likely to participate in the
labor force than either blacks (20.5 percent) or Hispanics (23.1 percent).
(See table 2.)
   
Out-of-School Youth
   
   Four out of five of the 16- to 24-year-olds not enrolled in school were
in the labor force in October 2002.  The labor force participation rate for
men in this group was 88.5 percent, compared with 74.0 percent for women.
This disparity in labor force activity between young men and women appeared
at all educational levels, although it was greatest among those with less
than a high school diploma.  Black and Hispanic out-of-school youth had
lower labor force participation rates than whites.  Also, the unemployment
rate for black out-of-school youth (25.0 percent) was double the rate for
Hispanic youth (12.4 percent) and nearly two and one half times the rate
for white youth (10.1 percent).  (See table 2.)
  
  
 
 

Technical Note


    The estimates in this release were obtained from a supplement to the
October 2002 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about
60,000 households which 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
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 the month.  Data reflect the introduction of Census 2000-based 
population controls and are not strictly comparable with data for previous 
years.
 
    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 shcool, 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 2002 high school graduates and 2001-02 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old 
   by school enrollment, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, October 2002
   
   (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, 2002 high school graduates..    2,796     1,604     57.3      1,375     49.2        228    14.2     1,193 
                                                                                                                    
     Men..............................    1,412       829     58.7        730     51.7        100    12.0       582 
     Women............................    1,384       774     55.9        645     46.6        129    16.6       610 
                                                                                                                    
     White............................    2,231     1,300     58.3      1,150     51.5        150    11.6       931 
     Black............................      387       205     53.0        143     36.9         62    30.3       182 
     Hispanic origin..................      344       215     62.6        167     48.7         48    22.2       129 
                                                                                                                    
     Enrolled in college..............    1,824       829     45.4        731     40.1         98    11.8       996 
                                                                                                                    
       Enrolled in 2-year college.....      605       351     58.0        306     50.6         45    12.8       254 
       Enrolled in 4-year college.....    1,220       478     39.2        425     34.8         53    11.1       742 
                                                                                                                    
       Full-time students.............    1,668       711     42.6        632     37.9         79    11.1       958 
       Part-time students.............      156       118     75.7         99     63.4         19    16.3        38 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................      877       385     43.9        347     39.5         38     9.9       492 
       Women..........................      947       444     46.9        384     40.6         60    13.4       503 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................    1,488       693     46.6        622     41.8         71    10.2       795 
       Black..........................      227        86     37.9         64     28.3         22    25.4       141 
       Hispanic origin................      184        91     49.4         81     44.1         10    10.7        93 
                                                                                                                    
     Not enrolled in college..........      972       775     79.7        644     66.3        131    16.9       197 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................      535       444     83.1        383     71.7         61    13.8        90 
       Women..........................      437       330     75.6        261     59.7         69    21.0       107 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................      743       607     81.7        528     71.0         80    13.1       136 
       Black..........................      160       119     74.5         79     49.3         40    33.9        41 
       Hispanic origin................      160       124     77.7         86     54.0         38    30.6        36 
                                                                                                                    
   Total, 2001-02 high school                                                                                       
      dropouts(1).....................      401       271     67.7        191     47.5         81    29.8       129 
                                                                                                                    
     Men..............................      214       149     69.5        114     53.3         35    23.4        65 
     Women............................      187       122     65.6         76     40.9         46    37.6        64 
                                                                                                                    
     White............................      281       188     67.0        140     49.8         48    25.6        93 
     Black............................       79        55     69.8         28     35.6         27     (2)        24 
     Hispanic origin..................       94        62     66.5         40     42.2         23     (2)        31 

     1 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2001 and October 2002.
     2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.
     NOTE:  Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the
   "other races" groups are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. 
   Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals.  Data reflect the introduction of Census
   2000-based population controls and are not strictly comparable with data for previous years.
    
 
 
 

   Table 2.  Labor force status of persons 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex,
   race, and Hispanic origin, October 2002
   
   (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..........   35,498    22,128     62.3     19,612     55.2      2,515    11.4    13,370 
                                                                                                                    
   Enrolled in school.................   19,376     8,984     46.4      8,088     41.7        895    10.0    10,392 
                                                                                                                    
     Enrolled in high school(1).......    9,163     3,182     34.7      2,721     29.7        461    14.5     5,981 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................    4,823     1,548     32.1      1,298     26.9        251    16.2     3,275 
       Women..........................    4,340     1,634     37.6      1,423     32.8        210    12.9     2,706 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................    7,173     2,776     38.7      2,397     33.4        379    13.6     4,397 
       Black..........................    1,478       303     20.5        240     16.2         63    20.8     1,175 
       Hispanic origin................    1,440       333     23.1        253     17.6         80    23.9     1,108 
                                                                                                                    
     Enrolled in college..............   10,213     5,802     56.8      5,367     52.6        435     7.5     4,411 
                                                                                                                    
       Enrolled in 2-year college.....    2,736     1,875     68.5      1,708     62.4        166     8.9       861 
       Enrolled in 4-year college.....    7,477     3,927     52.5      3,659     48.9        268     6.8     3,550 
                                                                                                                    
       Full-time students.............    8,660     4,490     51.8      4,141     47.8        349     7.8     4,170 
       Part-time students.............    1,553     1,312     84.5      1,226     78.9         86     6.5       241 
                                                                                                                    
       Men............................    4,701     2,521     53.6      2,343     49.8        178     7.1     2,179 
       Women..........................    5,512     3,281     59.5      3,025     54.9        256     7.8     2,232 
                                                                                                                    
       White..........................    8,020     4,734     59.0      4,423     55.1        311     6.6     3,287 
       Black..........................    1,279       620     48.5        527     41.2         93    15.0       658 
       Hispanic origin................      992       598     60.3        543     54.8         55     9.1       394 
                                                                                                                    
   Not enrolled in school.............   16,122    13,144     81.5     11,524     71.5      1,620    12.3     2,979 
     16 to 19 years...................    3,361     2,490     74.1      2,021     60.1        469    18.8       871 
     20 to 24 years...................   12,762    10,654     83.5      9,503     74.5      1,151    10.8     2,108 
                                                                                                                    
     Men..............................    8,370     7,403     88.5      6,506     77.7        897    12.1       967 
       Less than a high school diploma    2,108     1,744     82.7      1,468     69.6        276    15.8       364 
       High school graduates, no                                                                                    
        college.......................    3,876     3,428     88.4      3,010     77.7        418    12.2       448 
       Less than a bachelor's degree..    1,722     1,601     93.0      1,449     84.2        151     9.5       121 
       College graduates..............      664       631     95.0        579     87.2         51     8.2        33 
                                                                                                                    
     Women............................    7,753     5,741     74.0      5,018     64.7        723    12.6     2,012 
       Less than a high school diploma    1,612       888     55.1        668     41.5        220    24.7       724 
       High school graduates, no                                                                                    
        college.......................    3,462     2,564     74.1      2,213     63.9        351    13.7       898 
       Less than a bachelor's degree..    1,721     1,438     83.6      1,327     77.1        112     7.8       283 
       College graduates..............      957       851     88.9        810     84.7         40     4.7       106 
                                                                                                                    
     White............................   12,854    10,683     83.1      9,605     74.7      1,078    10.1     2,171 
     Black............................    2,472     1,842     74.5      1,381     55.9        461    25.0       630 
     Hispanic origin..................    3,687     2,898     78.6      2,538     68.8        360    12.4       789 

     1 Includes a small number of persons enrolled in grades below high school.
     NOTE:  Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the
   "other races" groups are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. 
   Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals.  Data reflect the introduction of Census
   2000-based population controls and are not strictly comparable with data for previous years.