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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8211
At the direction of Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics this month will start including data that highlights the labor
market status of different educational groups as part of its monthly Employment
Situation report.
Starting with the Feb. 6 release of data on January's employment
situation, the BLS report will correlate unemployment levels with educational
levels. This will not require additional data collection by BLS, simply the
inclusion of data that BLS already collects.
Herman called for education data to be included in the monthly reports,
released on the first Friday of each month, because the new information-based
economy has placed increased emphasis on education and training. These new data
on employment for different educational groups will allow tracking of not just
what people earn but whether they are able to gain employment.
The following statistics show the correlation among education,
employment and earnings:
- In 1997, a high-school dropout was almost twice as likely to be
unemployed as a high-school graduate and four times more likely to be
unemployed than a college graduate.
- In 1997, the median full-time college graduate earned 57 percent more
than a high-school graduate and 126 percent more than a high-school dropout. In
contrast, in 1979 the median full-time college graduate earned 29 percent more
than a high-school graduate and 52 percent more than a high-school
dropout.
- In 1997, 3.3 percent of black female college graduates were
unemployed, while 15.1 percent of black female high-school dropouts were
unemployed. Similarly, while 4.0 percent of black male college graduates were
unemployed in 1997, 11.4 percent of black male high-school dropouts were
unemployed.
- In 1997, 72.5 percent of Hispanic female college graduates were
employed, but only 35.3 percent of Hispanic female high-school dropouts were
employed. Similarly, while 88.9 percent of Hispanic male college graduates were
employed in 1997, 72.1 percent of Hispanic male high-school dropouts had
jobs.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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