For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, April 23, 2024 USDL-24-0742 

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 — 2023

In October 2023, 61.4 percent of 2023 high school graduates ages 16 to 24 were enrolled in 

colleges or universities, little changed from the previous year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

reported today. Among 20- to 29-year-olds who received a bachelor's degree in 2023, 70.2 

percent were employed, down from 76.4 percent over the year. 

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 ages 16 to 24, this news release presents information on 

recent degree recipients ages 20 to 29. For more information, see the Technical Note in this news 

release. 

Highlights from the October 2023 data: 

• Among recent high school graduates ages 16 to 24, 57.6 percent of men and 65.3 percent of 

women were enrolled in college. (See table 1.) 

• Among 16- to 24-year-olds, 43.7 percent of recent high school dropouts were working or 

looking for work, lower than the labor force participation rate of 71.7 percent for recent high 

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

• There were 18.0 million people ages 16 to 24 who were not enrolled in school—45.6 percent 

of all people in this age group. (See table 2.) 

• Among 20- to 29-year-olds, 61.0 percent of recent associate degree recipients, 70.2 percent 

of recent bachelor's degree recipients, and 84.5 percent of recent advanced degree recipients 

were employed. (See table 3.) 

• Twenty-six percent of recent bachelor's degree recipients ages 20 to 29 were enrolled in 

school. (See table 3.) 
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• Among 20- to 29-year-olds, unemployment rates were 6.8 percent for recent associate degree

recipients, 12.3 percent for recent bachelor's degree recipients, and 6.8 percent for recent 

advanced degree recipients. (See table 3.) 

Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts (Ages 16 to 24) 

Of the 3.1 million youth ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and 

October 2023, 1.9 million were enrolled in college in October. The college enrollment rate of 

recent high school graduates, at 61.4 percent in October 2023, was little different from the rate of 

62.0 percent in October 2022. (See table 1.)

Among 2023 high school graduates ages 16 to 24, the college enrollment rate for young women, 

at 65.3 percent in October 2023, continued to be higher than the rate for young men (57.6 

percent). By race and ethnicity, the college enrollment rates in October 2023 were 84.7 percent 

for Asians, 59.9 percent for Whites, 59.6 percent for Blacks, and 51.8 percent for Hispanics. 

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 in October 2023 was 32.4 percent. 

The participation rates for male and female graduates enrolled in college were 31.4 percent and 

33.2 percent, respectively.

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2023, about 9 in 10 were 

full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students were less likely to be in the 

labor force (29.6 percent) than were their peers enrolled part time (68.9 percent). 

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college, 3 out of 4 attended 4-year colleges in 

October 2023. Of these students, 26.1 percent participated in the labor force, about half the rate 

of recent graduates enrolled in 2-year colleges (50.8 percent).

Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in October 2023 were more than twice as 

likely to be in the labor force as graduates enrolled in college (71.7 percent versus 32.4 percent). 

For both groups, labor force participation was little changed from the previous year. The 

unemployment rate was 12.9 percent for recent graduates enrolled in college and 17.8 percent for 

recent high school graduates not enrolled in college. 

Between October 2022 and October 2023, 614,000 young people dropped out of high school. 

The labor force participation rate for recent dropouts (43.7 percent) continued to be much lower 

than the rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college (71.7 percent). The 

unemployment rate for recent high school dropouts was 23.5 percent, nearly double the rate for 

recent graduates enrolled in college (12.9 percent).

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

In October 2023, 21.4 million 16- to 24-year-olds, or 54.4 percent of youth, were enrolled in 

high school (9.5 million) or in college (11.9 million). The labor force participation rate for youth 

enrolled in school, at 37.3 percent, was little changed from October 2022 to October 2023. The 
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unemployment rate for youth enrolled in school edged up to 7.4 percent from the previous year.

(See table 2.)

In October 2023, high school students continued to be less likely than college students to 

participate in the labor force (25.7 percent versus 46.7 percent). The participation rates for male 

and female high school students were 24.6 percent and 26.8 percent, respectively.

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

force in October 2023 than were part-time students (41.7 percent versus 82.7 percent). Students 

at 4-year colleges were also less likely to be in the labor force than were students at 2-year

colleges (43.7 percent and 57.6 percent, respectively). Female college students' participation rate 

was higher than the rate for male college students (51.4 percent, compared with 40.9 percent).

By race and ethnicity, the labor force participation rate was lower for Asian college students 

(32.9 percent) than for their Black (43.9 percent), White (48.9 percent), and Hispanic (50.6 

percent) counterparts. 

In October 2023, the unemployment rate for high school students increased by 4.9 percentage 

points over the year, to 12.4 percent, while the rate for college students, at 5.2 percent, was little 

changed. 

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

In October 2023, 18.0 million people ages 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school. The labor force 

participation rate of youth not enrolled in school was 79.4 percent. Among youth not enrolled in 

school in October 2023, young men continued to be more likely than young women to participate 

in the labor force (81.6 percent, compared with 76.9 percent). (See table 2.)

Labor force participation rates for young men and young women not enrolled in school were 

highest for those with a bachelor's degree or higher (92.2 percent and 91.0 percent, respectively) 

and lowest for young men and young women with less than a high school diploma (69.0 percent 

and 54.6 percent, respectively). 

The unemployment rate for youth ages 16 to 24 not enrolled in school, at 9.2 percent in October 

2023, changed little over the year. Among those not-enrolled youth who did not have a high 

school diploma, unemployment rates were 14.0 percent for young men and 13.7 percent for 

young women. The jobless rates of young men and young women with at least a bachelor's 

degree were 7.4 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively. Among youth not enrolled in school, the 

unemployment rates were 14.0 percent for Blacks, 10.1 percent for Hispanics, 7.9 percent for 

Whites, and 6.7 percent for Asians. 

Recent College Graduates (Ages 20 to 29)

Between January and October 2023, 1.1 million 20- to 29-year-olds earned a bachelor's degree; 

of these, 757,000 (or 70.2 percent) were employed in October 2023. Among recent bachelor’s 

degree recipients, 75.2 percent of men were employed, compared with 66.8 percent of women. 

The unemployment rate for recent college graduates with a bachelor's degree, at 12.3 percent, 
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increased by 3.7 percentage points from the previous year. In October 2023, the jobless rate for 

female bachelor’s degree recipients increased to 14.8 percent over the year, while the rate for 

male bachelor’s degree recipients (8.8 percent) was little changed. (See table 3.) 

Twenty-six percent of bachelor's degree recipients were enrolled in school in October 2023. 

These recent graduates who were enrolled in school were less likely to be employed than those 

who were not enrolled (44.0 percent versus 79.2 percent).

Between January and October 2023, 403,000 people ages 20 to 29 earned an advanced degree—

that is, a master's, professional, or doctoral degree. Among these recent graduates, 84.5 percent

were employed in October 2023. The unemployment rate for recent advanced degree recipients 

was 6.8 percent. 

Recent Associate Degree Recipients (Ages 20 to 29)

Of the 299,000 20- to 29-year-olds who completed an associate degree between January and 

October 2023, 61.0 percent were employed in October 2023. The unemployment rate for recent 

associate degree recipients was 6.8 percent. (See table 3.) 

Recent associate degree recipients ages 20 to 29 were much more likely to have completed an 

academic program (74.2 percent) than a vocational program (25.8 percent) in October 2023. 

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. 

In October 2023, 44.1 percent of recent associate degree recipients were enrolled in school. Of 

the 132,000 recent recipients who were enrolled in school, 46.1 percent were employed. By 

contrast, 72.7 percent of the 167,000 recent associate degree recipients who were not enrolled in 

school were employed.
Technical Note

The estimates in this news release were obtained 

from a supplement to the October 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 

news release relate to the school enrollment status 

of people 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 people 16 to 24 years of age. 

Data about recent associate degree recipients and 

college graduates refer to people 20 to 29 years of 

age.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech 

disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Definitions

Definitions of the principal terms used in this 

news release 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-thejob 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. People 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.

People 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. People 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. People 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. People 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. People 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.
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.
Table 1. Labor force status of 2023 high school graduates and 2022-2023 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex,

race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2023

[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, 2023 high school graduates1 3,086 1,467 47.5 1,235 40.0 231 15.8 1,619

Men 1,551 770 49.7 614 39.6 156 20.3 780

Women 1,535 696 45.4 622 40.5 75 10.7 839

White 2,267 1,147 50.6 967 42.7 180 15.7 1,119

Black or African American 408 191 46.9 158 38.8 33 17.3 217

Asian 209 42 20.2 42 20.2 - - 166

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 739 413 56.0 332 44.9 81 19.7 325

Enrolled in college

Total, enrolled in college 1,896 614 32.4 534 28.2 79 12.9 1,283

Enrolled in 2-year college 481 244 50.8 213 44.3 31 12.9 237

Enrolled in 4-year college 1,415 369 26.1 321 22.7 48 13.0 1,046

Full-time students 1,763 522 29.6 449 25.5 73 14.0 1,241

Part-time students 133 92 68.9 86 64.3 6 6.8 41

Men 893 280 31.4 242 27.0 39 13.8 613

Women 1,003 333 33.2 293 29.2 41 12.2 670

White 1,358 466 34.4 409 30.1 57 12.3 891

Black or African American 243 73 30.1 65 26.9 8 - 169

Asian 177 29 16.5 29 16.5 - - 148

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 383 145 38.0 128 33.4 18 12.1 237

Not enrolled in college

Total, not enrolled in college 1,190 853 71.7 701 58.9 152 17.8 337

Men 657 490 74.5 372 56.6 118 24.0 167

Women 532 363 68.2 329 61.8 34 9.4 169

White 909 681 74.9 558 61.4 123 18.1 228

Black or African American 165 118 71.4 93 56.1 25 21.4 47

Asian 32 13 - 13 - - - 19

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 356 268 75.3 204 57.4 64 23.8 88

RECENT HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS

Total, 2022-2023 high school dropouts2 614 268 43.7 205 33.4 63 23.5 346

Men 330 141 42.7 105 31.7 36 25.6 189

Women 284 128 44.9 101 35.4 27 21.1 157

White 474 186 39.2 144 30.4 42 22.6 288

Black or African American 79 47 60.0 36 45.1 12 - 31

Asian 20 5 - 5 - - - 15

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 204 84 41.1 60 29.4 24 28.4 120

1 Data refer to persons who graduated from high school in January through October 2023.

2 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2022 and October 2023.

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 2023

[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 39,392 22,255 56.5 20,358 51.7 1,897 8.5 17,138

Enrolled in school

Total, enrolled in school 21,439 8,003 37.3 7,413 34.6 590 7.4 13,436

Enrolled in high school1 9,533 2,447 25.7 2,144 22.5 303 12.4 7,085

Men 4,995 1,231 24.6 1,051 21.0 180 14.6 3,764

Women 4,538 1,217 26.8 1,093 24.1 124 10.2 3,321

White 6,851 1,943 28.4 1,720 25.1 223 11.5 4,907

Black or African American 1,493 261 17.5 221 14.8 40 15.5 1,232

Asian 458 29 6.3 28 6.1 1 - 429

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2,421 496 20.5 399 16.5 97 19.6 1,925

Enrolled in college 11,906 5,556 46.7 5,269 44.3 287 5.2 6,350

Enrolled in 2-year college 2,563 1,477 57.6 1,404 54.8 72 4.9 1,086

Enrolled in 4-year college 9,343 4,079 43.7 3,865 41.4 214 5.3 5,264

Full-time students 10,457 4,358 41.7 4,142 39.6 215 4.9 6,099

Part-time students 1,450 1,198 82.7 1,127 77.7 71 6.0 251

Men 5,356 2,188 40.9 2,072 38.7 116 5.3 3,168

Women 6,551 3,368 51.4 3,197 48.8 171 5.1 3,183

White 8,507 4,164 48.9 3,982 46.8 182 4.4 4,343

Black or African American 1,594 700 43.9 646 40.5 54 7.7 895

Asian 1,176 386 32.9 357 30.4 29 7.6 789

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2,340 1,184 50.6 1,143 48.9 40 3.4 1,156

Not enrolled in school

Total, not enrolled in school 17,953 14,251 79.4 12,945 72.1 1,307 9.2 3,702

16 to 19 years 3,799 2,548 67.1 2,193 57.7 355 13.9 1,252

20 to 24 years 14,154 11,704 82.7 10,752 76.0 952 8.1 2,450

Men 9,517 7,763 81.6 7,028 73.8 735 9.5 1,754

Less than a high school diploma 1,301 898 69.0 772 59.4 125 14.0 403

High school graduates, no college2 5,137 4,136 80.5 3,714 72.3 422 10.2 1,001

Some college or associate degree 1,816 1,565 86.2 1,464 80.6 101 6.4 251

Bachelor's degree and higher3 1,262 1,164 92.2 1,078 85.4 86 7.4 98

Women 8,437 6,489 76.9 5,917 70.1 572 8.8 1,948

Less than a high school diploma 930 508 54.6 438 47.1 69 13.7 423

High school graduates, no college2 4,061 2,992 73.7 2,690 66.2 302 10.1 1,069

Some college or associate degree 1,701 1,401 82.4 1,315 77.3 87 6.2 299

Bachelor's degree and higher3 1,744 1,587 91.0 1,474 84.5 113 7.1 157

White 13,315 10,595 79.6 9,758 73.3 837 7.9 2,720

Black or African American 2,691 2,188 81.3 1,881 69.9 307 14.0 503

Asian 698 515 73.7 480 68.8 34 6.7 184

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 5,002 3,981 79.6 3,578 71.5 403 10.1 1,021

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 2023 associate degree recipients and college graduates 20 to 29 years old by selected characteristics, October 2023

[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 299 196 65.4 183 61.0 13 6.8 104

Men 135 89 66.0 89 66.0 - - 46

Women 165 107 64.9 94 56.9 13 12.4 58

20 to 24 years 163 108 65.9 94 57.8 13 12.3 56

25 to 29 years 136 88 64.8 88 64.8 - - 48

Vocational program 77 54 69.5 49 63.0 5 - 24

Academic program 222 142 63.9 134 60.3 8 5.8 80

Enrolled in school 132 61 46.1 61 46.1 - - 71

Not enrolled in school 167 135 80.6 122 72.7 13 9.8 32

RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES2

Total, 20 to 29 years 1,481 1,228 82.9 1,098 74.1 131 10.6 253

Men 610 506 82.9 464 76.0 42 8.3 104

Women 871 722 83.0 634 72.8 88 12.3 148

20 to 24 years 1,013 805 79.5 712 70.3 94 11.6 207

25 to 29 years 468 423 90.3 386 82.4 37 8.8 45

Enrolled in school 349 190 54.4 176 50.2 14 7.6 159

Not enrolled in school 1,132 1,038 91.8 922 81.5 116 11.2 93

White 1,074 926 86.2 853 79.4 73 7.9 148

Black or African American 172 124 72.1 88 51.4 35 28.7 48

Asian 196 140 71.1 123 62.8 16 11.6 57

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 173 141 81.6 122 70.3 19 13.8 32

Bachelor's degree

Total, 20 to 29 years 1,078 863 80.0 757 70.2 106 12.3 215

Men 435 359 82.5 327 75.2 31 8.8 76

Women 643 504 78.4 429 66.8 75 14.8 139

20 to 24 years 892 700 78.5 620 69.5 80 11.4 192

25 to 29 years 186 163 87.6 137 73.7 26 15.9 23

Enrolled in school 276 136 49.2 122 44.0 14 10.6 140

Not enrolled in school 802 727 90.7 635 79.2 92 12.6 75

Advanced degree3

Total, 20 to 29 years 403 366 90.7 341 84.5 25 6.8 38

Men 175 147 84.1 137 78.0 11 7.3 28

Women 228 218 95.7 204 89.6 14 6.4 10

20 to 24 years 120 105 87.3 92 76.1 13 12.8 15

25 to 29 years 283 260 92.1 249 88.1 11 4.3 22

1 Data refer to persons who received an associate degree in January through October 2023.

2 Data refer to persons who received a bachelor's or higher degree in January through October 2023.

3 Data refer to persons who received a master's, professional, or doctoral degree in January through October 2023.

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).