Chapter 5: Outcomes of Education

This chapter contains tables comparing educational attainment and workforce characteristics. The data show labor force participation and income levels of high school dropouts and high school and college graduates. Population characteristics are provided for many of the measures to allow for comparisons among various demographic groups. tables 388 through 390 contain data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on labor force participation, employment, unemployment, and type of occupation by highest level of educational attainment, sex, age, and race/ethnicity. tables 391 and 392 provide comparisons of earnings by education level and sex from the U.S. Census Bureau. table 393 provides literacy scores for adults by education level, employment status, and demographic characteristics. The percentages of high school seniors with various characteristics who work different numbers of hours per week are shown in table 394.

tables 395 and 396, compiled from U.S. Census Bureau data on high school completers and dropouts, show the labor force participation and college enrollment of high school students within the year after they leave school. The tabulations also provide comparative labor force participation and unemployment rates for high school completers and dropouts. Additional information on college enrollment rates by race/ethnicity and sex has been included to help form a more complete picture of high school outcomes. table 397 provides data on college enrollment and employment among special education students who have left secondary school. Tables 398 and 399 provide data on the employment outcomes and salaries of college graduates 1 year after graduation. tables 400 and 401 provide data on drug use of young adults from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. table 402 provides information on life values of high school seniors and young adults.

Statistics related to outcomes of education appear in other sections of the Digest. For example, statistics on educational attainment of the entire population are in chapter 1. More detailed data on the numbers of high school and college graduates can be found in chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 3 contains trend data on the percentage of high school completers going to college. Additional data on earnings by educational attainment may be obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Reports, Series P 60. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has a series of publications dealing with the educational characteristics of the labor force. Further information on survey methodologies is in Appendix A: Guide to Sources and in the publications cited in the table source notes.

Labor Force

Adults with higher levels of education generally had higher labor force participation rates than adults with less education (table 388 and figure 21). (People participating in the labor force are those employed or actively seeking employment.) Among people 25 to 64 years old, 86 percent of those with a bachelor’s or higher degree participated in the labor force in 2009, compared with 76 percent of those who had completed only high school. In comparison, 63 percent of those ages 25 to 64 who had not completed high school were in the labor force. The 2009 labor force participation rates for those ages 25 to 64 who had completed only high school were higher for Hispanics (78 percent) and Whites (76 percent) than for Asians (74 percent) and Blacks (72 percent) (table 388). Among people ages 25 to 64 with a bachelor’s or higher degree, the labor force participation rates for Blacks (87 percent), Whites (86 percent), and Hispanics (86 percent) were higher than the rate for Asians (83 percent).

Unemployment rates were generally higher for people with lower levels of educational attainment than for those with higher levels of educational attainment (table 389 and figure 22). (The unemployment rate is the percentage of people in the labor force who are not employed and who have made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the prior 4 weeks.) The 2009 unemployment rate for adults (25 years old and over) who had not completed high school was 15 percent, compared with 10 percent for those who had completed high school and 5 percent for those with a bachelor’s or higher degree. Younger people tended to have higher unemployment rates than did people 25 years old and over (table 389).

The relative difficulties that dropouts encounter in entering the job market are highlighted by comparing their labor force participation rates to those of other youth. Of the 2008–09 high school completers who were not in college in October 2009, 70 percent were in the civilian labor force (employed or looking for work), and 35 percent of those in the labor force were looking for work (table 395). In comparison, 2008–09 high school dropouts participated in the labor force at a lower rate (48 percent) in October 2009, and 55 percent of those in the labor force were looking for work (table 396).

Earnings

For both males and females, full-time year-round workers 25 years old and over who had higher levels of educational attainment generally had higher median annual earnings than did those with lower levels of educational attainment (table E, table 391, and figure 24). In 2009, for example, male bachelor’s degree holders working full-time year-round earned 58 percent more than male high school completers, and female bachelor’s degree holders working full-time year-round earned 61 percent more than female high school completers.

Among full-time year-round workers 25 years old and over, the earnings of females remained lower than the earnings of males overall, as well as by education level. For example, median 2009 earnings for full-time year-round workers with a bachelor’s degree were 33 percent higher for males than for females. Among those whose highest level of educational attainment was high school completion, median 2009 earnings were 35 percent higher for males than for females.

For full-time year-round workers 25 years old and over, changes in median annual earnings in constant 2009 dollars from 1995 to 2009 varied according to highest level of educational attainment and sex. Among workers with the same level of educational attainment, net percentage changes in earnings tended to be more positive for females than for males. For both male and female full-time year-round workers, net percentage changes in earnings were generally more positive for those with higher levels of educational attainment than for those with lower levels of attainment. The median annual earnings in constant 2009 dollars of male workers with a bachelor’s degree were not significantly different in 1995 ($63,720) than in 2009 ($62,440), the median earnings of male workers who had completed high school decreased 5 percent from 1995 ($41,540) to 2009 ($39,480), and the median earnings of male workers who had not completed high school decreased 10 percent from 1995 ($31,230) to 2009 ($28,020). Among female full-time year-round workers, the median annual earnings of those with a bachelor’s degree increased 4 percent from 1995 ($45,120) to 2009 ($46,830), the median earnings of those who had completed high school were not significantly different in 1995 ($28,810) than in 2009 ($29,150), and the median earnings of those who had not completed high school decreased 5 percent from 1995 ($22,280) to 2009 ($21,230).

Table E. Median annual earnings of full-time year-round workers 25 years old and over, by selected levels of educational attainment and sex: Selected years, 1995 through 2009

[In constant 2009 dollars]
Sex and year	Some high school, no completion	High school completion	Bachelor's degree
Males
1995	$31,230	$41,540	$63,720
2000	31,260	42,740	70,180
2005	29,870	39,880	65,930
2009	28,020	39,480	62,440
Females
1995	22,280	28,810	45,120
2000	22,320	31,110	50,350
2005	22,110	28,880	46,330
2009	21,230	29,150	46,830
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Series P-60, Money Income in the United States, 1995 and 2000; and Detailed Income Tabulations from the CPS, 2005 and 2009.

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