April 24, 2025 (press release) –
College Enrollment and Work Activity of High School Graduates
Table of Contents
The PDF version of the news release For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, April 22, 2025 USDL-25-0563 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 — 2024 In October 2024, 62.8 percent of 2024 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 2024, 69.6 percent were employed, also little changed 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 2024 data: • Among recent high school graduates ages 16 to 24, 55.4 percent of men and 69.5 percent of women were enrolled in college. (See table 1.) • Among 16- to 24-year-olds, 40.0 percent of recent high school dropouts were working or looking for work, lower than the labor force participation rate of 66.4 percent for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college. (See table 1.) • There were 17.4 million people ages 16 to 24 who were not enrolled in school—44.5 percent of all people in this age group. (See table 2.) • Among 20- to 29-year-olds, 78.1 percent of recent associate degree recipients, 69.6 percent of recent bachelor's degree recipients, and 74.7 percent of recent advanced degree recipients were employed. (See table 3.) • Among recent bachelor's degree recipients ages 20 to 29, 25.2 percent were enrolled in school. (See table 3.) Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts (Ages 16 to 24) Of the 3.2 million youth ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2024, 2.0 million were enrolled in college in October. The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates, at 62.8 percent in October 2024, was little different from the rate of 61.4 percent in October 2023. (See table 1.) Among 2024 high school graduates ages 16 to 24, the college enrollment rate for young women, at 69.5 percent in October 2024, continued to be higher than the rate for young men (55.4 percent). By race and ethnicity, the college enrollment rate was 94.7 percent for people who are Asian, higher than the rate for those who are White (62.2 percent), Black or African American (59.2 percent), and Hispanic or Latino (55.4 percent). 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 2024 was 41.2 percent. The participation rates for male and female graduates enrolled in college were 43.1 percent and 39.9 percent, respectively. Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2024, about 9 in 10 were full-time students. Recent graduates enrolled as full-time students were less likely to be in the labor force (37.6 percent) than were their peers enrolled part time (76.2 percent). Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college, 2 out of 3 attended 4-year colleges in October 2024. Of these students, 32.7 percent participated in the labor force, lower than the rate of recent graduates enrolled in 2-year colleges (58.5 percent). Recent high school graduates not enrolled in college in October 2024 were more likely to be in the labor force than graduates enrolled in college (66.4 percent versus 41.2 percent). This rate changed little for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college (66.4 percent) over the year. For recent graduates enrolled in college, the labor force participation rate increased by 8.8 percentage points to 41.2 percent over the year. The unemployment rate was 12.0 percent for recent graduates enrolled in college and 20.4 percent for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college. Between October 2023 and October 2024, 606,000 young people dropped out of high school. The labor force participation rate for recent dropouts (40.0 percent) continued to be much lower than the rate for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college (66.4 percent). The unemployment rate was 18.7 percent for recent high school dropouts and 12.0 percent for recent graduates enrolled in college. All Youth Enrolled in High School or College (Ages 16 to 24) In October 2024, 21.7 million 16- to 24-year-olds, or 55.5 percent of youth, were enrolled in high school (9.9 million) or in college (11.8 million). The labor force participation rate for youth enrolled in school, at 36.9 percent, was little changed from October 2023 to October 2024. The -2- unemployment rate for youth enrolled in school, at 8.3 percent, was little changed from the previous year. (See table 2.) In October 2024, college students continued to be about twice as likely than high school students to participate in the labor force (49.2 percent versus 22.3 percent). The participation rates for male and female high school students were similar, at 21.2 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively. Among college students, those enrolled full time were much less likely to participate in the labor force in October 2024 than were part-time students (44.6 percent versus 81.6 percent). Students at 4-year colleges were also less likely to be in the labor force than were students at 2-year colleges (46.6 percent and 57.4 percent, respectively). Female college students' participation rate was higher than the rate for male college students (52.7 percent, compared with 44.8 percent). By race and ethnicity, the labor force participation rate was lower for Asian college students (37.2 percent) than for their Black or African American (48.3 percent), White (51.4 percent), and Hispanic or Latino (51.8 percent) counterparts. In October 2024, the unemployment rate for college students increased by 1.9 percentage points over the year, to 7.1 percent, while the rate for high school students, at 11.5 percent, was little changed. All Youth Not Enrolled in School (Ages 16 to 24) In October 2024, 17.4 million people ages 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school. The labor force participation rate of youth not enrolled in school was 78.5 percent. Among youth not enrolled in school in October 2024, young men continued to be more likely than young women to participate in the labor force (80.6 percent, compared with 76.1 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 (91.9 percent and 93.7 percent, respectively) and lowest for young men and young women with less than a high school diploma (60.8 percent and 48.5 percent, respectively). The unemployment rate for youth ages 16 to 24 not enrolled in school, at 9.7 percent in October 2024, changed little over the year. Among those not-enrolled youth who did not have a high school diploma, unemployment rates were 17.7 percent for young men and 7.1 percent for young women. The jobless rates of young men and young women with at least a bachelor's degree were 7.9 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively. Among youth not enrolled in school, the unemployment rates were 13.6 percent for people who are Black or African American, 13.6 percent for people who are Asian, 9.8 percent for people who are Hispanic or Latino, and 8.7 percent for those who are White. Recent College Graduates (Ages 20 to 29) Between January and October 2024, 1.2 million 20- to 29-year-olds earned a bachelor's degree; of these, 868,000 (or 69.6 percent) were employed in October 2024. Among recent bachelor's -3- degree recipients, 66.7 percent of men were employed, compared with 71.5 percent of women. The unemployment rate for recent college graduates with a bachelor's degree, at 15.3 percent, changed little from the previous year. (See table 3.) Among recent bachelor's degree recipients, 25.2 percent were enrolled in school in October 2024. These recent graduates who were enrolled in school were less likely to be employed than those who were not enrolled (46.1 percent versus 77.5 percent). Between January and October 2024, 405,000 people ages 20 to 29 earned an advanced degree— that is, a master's, professional, or doctoral degree. Among these recent graduates, 74.7 percent were employed in October 2024, down by 9.8 percentage points over the year. The unemployment rate for recent advanced degree recipients was 8.4 percent, little changed over the year. Recent Associate Degree Recipients (Ages 20 to 29) Of the 352,000 20- to 29-year-olds who completed an associate degree between January and October 2024, 78.1 percent were employed in October 2024. The unemployment rate for recent associate degree recipients was 2.1 percent. (See table 3.) Recent associate degree recipients ages 20 to 29 were twice as likely to have completed an academic program (67.6 percent) than a vocational program (32.4 percent) in October 2024. 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 2024, 42.3 percent of recent associate degree recipients were enrolled in school. Of the 149,000 recent recipients who were enrolled in school, 71.0 percent were employed. By contrast, 83.3 percent of the 202,000 recent associate degree recipients who were not enrolled in school were employed. -4- Technical Note The estimates in this news release were obtained time if they were taking 12 hours of classes or from a supplement to the October Current more (or 9 hours of graduate classes) during an Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of average school week and as part time if they were about 60,000 eligible households that provides taking fewer hours. information on the labor force, employment, and High school graduation status. People who were unemployment for the nation. The CPS is not enrolled in school at the time of the survey conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor were asked whether they had graduated from high Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. Data in this school. Those who had graduated were asked news release relate to the school enrollment status when they completed their high school education. of people in the civilian noninstitutional People who had not graduated, that is, school population in the calendar week that includes the dropouts, were asked when they last attended a 12th of October. Data about recent high school regular school. Those who were enrolled in graduates and dropouts and the enrollment status college at the time of the survey also were asked of youth refer to people 16 to 24 years of age. when they graduated from high school. Data about recent associate degree recipients and college graduates refer to people 20 to 29 years of Recent high school graduates. People age 16 to age. 24 who completed high school in the calendar year of the survey (January through October) are If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech recent high school graduates. disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. Recent high school dropouts. People age 16 to 24 who were not enrolled in school at the time of the Definitions survey, attended school a year earlier, and did not Definitions of the principal terms used in this have a high school diploma are recent dropouts. news release are described briefly below. Recent college graduates. People age 20 to 29 School enrollment. Respondents were asked who completed a bachelor’s degree or an whether they were currently enrolled in a regular advanced degree—that is, a master’s, school, including day or night school in any type professional (such as law or medicine), or of public, parochial, or other private school. doctoral degree—in the calendar year of the Regular schooling is that which may advance a survey (January through October) are recent person toward a high school diploma or a college, college graduates. university, or professional degree. Such schools Recent associate degree recipients. People age 20 include elementary schools, junior or senior high to 29 who completed an associate degree (either schools, and colleges and universities. an academic program or a vocational program) in Other schooling, including trade schools; on-the- the calendar year of the survey (January through job training; and courses that do not require October) are recent associate degree recipients. physical presence in school, such as Associate degrees in academic programs are correspondence courses or other courses of primarily in the arts and sciences and may be independent study, is included only if the credits transferable to a bachelor’s degree program, granted count towards promotion in regular while associate degrees in vocational programs school. prepare graduates for a specific occupation. Full-time and part-time enrollment in college. College students are classified as attending full Reliability of the estimates The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both reasons, including the failure to sample a segment sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, of the population, inability to obtain information rather than the entire population, is surveyed, for all respondents in the sample, inability or there is a chance that the sample estimates may unwillingness of respondents to provide correct differ from the true population values they information, and errors made in the collection or represent. The component of this difference that processing of the data. occurs because samples differ by chance is known as sampling error, and its variability is Additional information about the reliability of measured by the standard error of the estimate. data from the CPS and estimating standard errors There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of is available at confidence, that an estimate based on a sample www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability. 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. Table 1. Labor force status of 2024 high school graduates and 2023-2024 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2024 [Numbers in thousands] Civilian labor force Civilian Characteristic noninsti- Employed Unemployed Not in labor tutional rcent of force population Total Pe population Total Percent of population Number Rate RECENT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES Total, 2024 high school graduates¹ 3,222 1,630 50.6 1,367 42.4 262 16.1 1,592 Men 1,523 808 53.1 702 46.1 106 13.2 715 Women 1,699 821 48.3 665 39.2 156 19.0 878 White 2,288 1,223 53.4 1,014 44.3 208 17.0 1,066 Black or African American 478 199 41.5 160 33.5 38 19.3 280 Asian 190 65 34.0 65 34.0 - - 126 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 774 409 52.8 349 45.1 60 14.6 366 Enrolled in college Total, enrolled in college 2,023 834 41.2 734 36.3 100 12.0 1,189 Enrolled in 2-year college 667 391 58.5 314 47.1 76 19.6 277 Enrolled in 4-year college 1,356 443 32.7 420 31.0 24 5.3 912 Full-time students 1,832 688 37.6 610 33.3 78 11.3 1,143 Part-time students 192 146 76.2 124 64.5 22 15.3 46 Men 843 363 43.1 332 39.4 31 8.5 480 Women 1,180 471 39.9 402 34.1 69 14.7 709 White 1,423 628 44.1 530 37.2 98 15.6 795 Black or African American 283 102 35.9 100 35.2 2 2.0 181 Asian 180 55 30.3 55 30.3 - - 126 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 429 192 44.7 174 40.6 17 9.1 238 Not enrolled in college Total, not enrolled in college 1,199 795 66.4 633 52.8 162 20.4 403 Men 680 445 65.5 370 54.4 76 17.0 235 Women 519 350 67.5 263 50.8 87 24.8 168 White 865 595 68.7 484 56.0 110 18.6 270 Black or African American 195 97 49.6 61 31.0 36 37.4 98 Asian 10 10 - 10 - - - - Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 345 217 62.9 175 50.7 42 19.4 128 RECENT HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS Total, 2023-2024 high school dropouts² 606 242 40.0 197 32.5 45 18.7 364 Men 335 145 43.2 109 32.6 36 24.6 190 Women 271 97 35.9 88 32.4 10 9.8 174 White 388 159 40.9 124 32.0 35 21.7 229 Black or African American 120 68 56.8 58 48.5 10 - 52 Asian 29 5 - 5 - - - 24 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 187 73 38.9 45 23.9 28 - 114 ¹ Data refer to people who graduated from high school in January through October 2024. ² Data refer to people who dropped out of school between October 2023 and October 2024. 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. People 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 people 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2024 [Numbers in thousands] Civilian labor force Civilian Characteristic noninsti- Employed Unemployed Not in labor tutional Percent of force population Total population Total Percent of population Number Rate Total, 16 to 24 years 39,072 21,661 55.4 19,669 50.3 1,993 9.2 17,410 Enrolled in school Total, enrolled in school 21,696 8,012 36.9 7,350 33.9 663 8.3 13,683 Enrolled in high school¹ 9,897 2,211 22.3 1,957 19.8 254 11.5 7,686 Men 5,046 1,070 21.2 946 18.7 124 11.6 3,976 Women 4,850 1,141 23.5 1,011 20.8 130 11.4 3,710 White 7,078 1,690 23.9 1,478 20.9 211 12.5 5,388 Black or African American 1,547 242 15.6 220 14.2 21 8.9 1,305 Asian 501 85 17.1 85 17.1 - - 416 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2,539 401 15.8 307 12.1 94 23.5 2,138 Enrolled in college 11,799 5,802 49.2 5,393 45.7 409 7.1 5,997 Enrolled in 2-year college 2,765 1,588 57.4 1,449 52.4 139 8.8 1,178 Enrolled in 4-year college 9,034 4,214 46.6 3,944 43.7 270 6.4 4,820 Full-time students 10,354 4,623 44.6 4,287 41.4 335 7.3 5,731 Part-time students 1,445 1,179 81.6 1,105 76.5 74 6.3 266 Men 5,209 2,331 44.8 2,130 40.9 201 8.6 2,878 Women 6,591 3,471 52.7 3,263 49.5 208 6.0 3,120 White 8,247 4,238 51.4 3,965 48.1 273 6.4 4,008 Black or African American 1,698 819 48.3 744 43.8 75 9.2 878 Asian 1,192 444 37.2 407 34.2 37 8.3 748 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2,444 1,267 51.8 1,175 48.1 93 7.3 1,177 Not enrolled in school Total, not enrolled in school 17,376 13,649 78.5 12,319 70.9 1,330 9.7 3,727 16 to 19 years 3,708 2,328 62.8 1,926 51.9 402 17.3 1,380 20 to 24 years 13,668 11,321 82.8 10,393 76.0 928 8.2 2,347 Men 9,450 7,617 80.6 6,833 72.3 784 10.3 1,833 Less than a high school diploma 1,226 746 60.8 614 50.1 132 17.7 480 High school graduates, no college² 5,182 4,131 79.7 3,689 71.2 442 10.7 1,051 Some college or associate degree 1,667 1,477 88.6 1,366 81.9 111 7.5 190 Bachelor's degree and higher³ 1,375 1,264 91.9 1,165 84.7 99 7.9 111 Women 7,926 6,032 76.1 5,486 69.2 546 9.0 1,894 Less than a high school diploma 851 413 48.5 384 45.1 29 7.1 438 High school graduates, no college² 3,772 2,732 72.4 2,415 64.0 316 11.6 1,040 Some college or associate degree 1,550 1,245 80.3 1,165 75.2 80 6.4 305 Bachelor's degree and higher³ 1,752 1,642 93.7 1,522 86.8 120 7.3 110 White 13,006 10,370 79.7 9,465 72.8 905 8.7 2,636 Black or African American 2,481 1,888 76.1 1,631 65.7 257 13.6 594 Asian 726 579 79.8 500 68.9 79 13.6 147 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 4,933 3,772 76.5 3,401 68.9 371 9.8 1,161 ¹ Includes a small number of people enrolled in grades below high school. ² Includes people with a high school diploma or equivalent. ³ Includes people 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. People 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 2024 associate degree recipients and college graduates 20 to 29 years old by selected characteristics, October 2024 [Numbers in thousands] Civilian labor force Civilian Characteristic noninsti- Employed Unemployed Not in labor tutional force population Total Percent of population Total Percent of population Number Rate RECENT ASSOCIATE DEGREE RECIPIENTS¹ Total, 20 to 29 years 352 281 79.8 275 78.1 6 2.1 71 Men 154 129 83.6 123 79.8 6 4.5 25 Women 198 152 76.8 152 76.8 - - 46 20 to 24 years 236 200 84.9 200 84.9 - - 36 25 to 29 years 116 80 69.3 75 64.3 6 7.2 36 Vocational program 114 90 79.3 86 75.2 5 5.2 24 Academic program 238 190 80.0 189 79.5 1 0.6 48 Enrolled in school 149 106 71.0 106 71.0 - - 43 Not enrolled in school 202 174 86.2 169 83.3 6 3.3 28 RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES² Total, 20 to 29 years 1,653 1,354 82.0 1,170 70.8 184 13.6 298 Men 634 491 77.4 429 67.7 62 12.6 143 Women 1,019 864 84.8 741 72.8 122 14.2 155 20 to 24 years 1,197 955 79.8 815 68.1 139 14.6 242 25 to 29 years 456 400 87.7 355 77.9 45 11.2 56 Enrolled in school 383 196 51.1 179 46.8 16 8.4 187 Not enrolled in school 1,270 1,159 91.3 991 78.1 168 14.5 111 White 1,141 971 85.0 851 74.6 120 12.3 171 Black or African American 217 147 67.7 127 58.8 19 13.2 70 Asian 226 183 80.8 148 65.3 35 19.2 43 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 261 211 81.0 190 72.8 21 10.1 50 Bachelor's degree Total, 20 to 29 years 1,248 1,024 82.1 868 69.6 156 15.3 223 Men 495 383 77.4 330 66.7 53 13.8 112 Women 753 642 85.2 538 71.5 104 16.1 111 20 to 24 years 1,079 863 80.0 733 67.9 131 15.1 216 25 to 29 years 168 161 95.6 135 80.3 26 16.0 7 Enrolled in school 314 161 51.4 145 46.1 16 10.2 153 Not enrolled in school 934 863 92.4 723 77.5 140 16.2 71 Advanced degree³ Total, 20 to 29 years 405 330 81.5 302 74.7 28 8.4 75 Men 139 108 77.7 99 71.4 9 8.2 31 Women 266 222 83.5 203 76.4 19 8.5 44 20 to 24 years 117 91 77.8 82 70.2 9 9.8 26 25 to 29 years 288 239 83.0 220 76.5 19 7.9 49 ¹ Data refer to people who received an associate degree in January through October 2024. ² Data refer to people who received a bachelor's or higher degree in January through October 2024. ³ Data refer to people who received a master's, professional, or doctoral degree in January through October 2024. 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. People 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).
Last Modified Date: April 22, 2025
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