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Postsecondary Education

Characteristics of Postsecondary Students

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Table A-37-1. Percentage of 16- to 24-year-old college students who were employed, by attendance status, hours worked per week, and level and control of institution: Selected years, October 1970 through October 2010
Level and control of institution and year Full-time students   Part-time students
    Hours worked per week1       Hours worked per week1
Percent employed2   Less than 20 hours   20–34 hours   35 or more hours   Percent employed2   Less than 20 hours   20–34 hours   35 or more hours
Total                              
1970 33.8   19.3   10.4   3.8   82.2   5.0   15.8   60.3
1975 35.3   18.2   12.0   4.7   80.9   6.0   19.5   52.6
1980 40.0   21.5   14.0   3.9   84.5   7.9   22.5   52.6
1985 44.2   21.8   17.3   4.3   86.1   6.0   26.8   52.5
1990 45.7   20.6   19.3   4.8   83.7   4.0   26.0   52.7
1995 47.2   19.1   20.3   6.5   82.9   8.6   30.4   42.3
2000 52.0   20.1   21.7   8.9   84.9   8.6   27.8   47.5
2001 47.0   17.4   20.6   7.9   84.5   8.1   25.8   48.9
2002 47.8   17.3   20.9   8.5   78.9   8.7   25.3   43.4
2003 47.7   17.1   20.7   8.8   79.0   7.8   27.2   42.8
2004 49.0   17.7   21.6   8.6   81.5   8.5   27.4   44.1
2005 49.1   17.8   21.1   9.0   85.0   10.2   27.1   47.1
2006 46.5   15.1   22.0   8.1   81.0   7.3   27.6   45.5
2007 45.5   15.4   20.7   8.7   81.2   6.8   27.2   45.9
2008 45.3   15.6   20.1   8.7   79.4   9.3   24.7   44.4
2009 40.6   15.6   17.6   6.2   76.2   10.1   27.5   36.9
2010 39.8   14.9   17.2   6.6   73.4   10.7   28.3   32.8
Enrolled in public 4-year institutions                              
1990 43.0   19.8   18.6   3.7   87.4   4.2 ! 27.9   54.7
1995 48.8   19.4   22.6   5.6   86.7   9.6   30.8   45.0
2000 50.5   19.1   21.5   9.0   87.3   8.5   26.4   50.9
2001 45.9   16.6   20.9   7.5   86.7   7.5   27.9   49.5
2002 47.7   17.2   21.0   8.0   78.5   7.5   22.8   47.4
2003 47.5   17.3   20.7   8.2   81.7   9.3   27.3   43.7
2004 49.7   17.4   22.0   8.8   83.0   9.0   27.4   44.3
2005 49.6   17.8   22.7   8.0   86.3   9.0   26.8   49.7
2006 46.6   13.9   22.9   8.6   80.5   7.1   26.4   46.0
2007 44.7   14.9   20.1   8.9   78.3   6.4   23.1   48.5
2008 44.1   15.1   19.2   8.8   83.9   9.3   24.7   49.5
2009 40.6   14.7   18.7   5.8   78.7   11.1   25.7   39.8
2010 40.8   15.2   18.0   6.6   70.4   10.5   26.9   32.1
Enrolled in private 4-year institutions                              
1990 38.1   24.0   9.9   3.5   89.9   ‡   31.9   53.1
1995 38.6   21.6   10.7   4.6   80.1   14.9   26.8   36.5
2000 45.8   23.6   14.9   5.4   78.0   ‡   18.5   52.6
2001 38.7   19.7   11.6   6.3   83.6   7.9 ! 23.3   51.6
2002 39.8   17.4   15.1   6.0   77.6   16.6   17.4   42.1
2003 41.1   19.0   12.8   8.4   69.2   9.3 ! 17.5   40.7
2004 40.6   19.6   15.0   5.3   73.0   ‡   21.2   49.2
2005 42.3   20.1   13.8   7.0   88.5   10.6 ! 34.5   43.2
2006 36.9   18.1   12.4   5.1   83.0   6.1 ! 21.0   55.9
2007 38.7   18.0   13.0   6.7   83.9   ‡   14.3 ! 61.2
2008 38.0   18.5   12.4   5.6   84.4   ‡   21.4   55.3
2009 35.2   18.6   10.7   5.1   93.9   7.5 ! 22.1   62.4
2010 35.6   15.7   12.2   6.0   78.6   ‡   23.4 ! 45.6
                               
Enrolled in public 2-year institutions                              
1990 61.2   19.1   31.2   9.2   81.5   4.1   24.9   51.1
1995 52.9   15.6   25.3   10.9   81.1   6.1   32.5   40.5
2000 63.9   20.6   29.9   11.9   85.5   9.9   30.0   44.9
2001 58.1   18.0   28.0   10.6   83.2   8.9   25.2   47.4
2002 55.1   17.4   26.3   11.0   79.2   8.6   29.8   39.6
2003 54.7   15.4   28.1   10.3   80.6   6.6   29.6   43.4
2004 55.1   17.0   27.1   10.3   81.9   9.0   28.7   43.1
2005 54.2   15.6   24.2   13.4   82.0   10.8   25.8   44.8
2006 55.3   15.8   28.8   9.2   80.7   8.2   30.0   42.2
2007 54.0   15.2   28.7   9.6   83.4   7.1   33.7   40.9
2008 52.9   14.6   26.9   10.7   74.8   9.7   25.9   37.8
2009 45.4   16.0   20.5   7.8   71.8   10.3   30.6   29.4
2010 40.6   14.0   19.1   6.8   74.7   11.6   30.1   31.0
! Interpret with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 30 percent or greater.
‡ Reporting standards not met. The coefficient of variation for this estimate is 50 percent or greater.
1 Excludes those who were employed but not at work during the survey week; therefore, detail may not sum to total percentage employed. Hours worked per week refers to the number of hours the respondent worked at all jobs during the survey week.
2 Includes those who were employed but not at work during the survey week.
NOTE: Trend information for both 2- and 4-year public institutions and private 4-year institutions prior to 1990 was not available due to missing values. College includes both 2- and 4-year institutions. College students were classified as full time if they were taking at least 12 hours of classes (or at least 9 hours of graduate classes) during an average school week and as part time if they were taking fewer hours. For more information on classification of postsecondary education institutions, see Appendix C – Commonly Used Measures. For more information on the Current Population Survey (CPS), see Appendix B – Guide to Sources.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October Supplement, selected years, 1970–2010.
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