Table 485.

Participation of employed persons, 17 years old and over, in career-related adult education during the previous 12 months, by selected characteristics of participants: 1995, 1999, and 2005

[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Characteristic of employed persons	1995						1999						2005
	Percent of adults partici-pating in career- or job-related courses			Number of career- or job-related courses taken, per employed adult			Percent of adults partici- pating in career- or job-related courses			Number of career- or job-related courses taken, per employed adult			Employed persons, in thousands		Percent of adults participating											Number of career- or job-related courses taken1
															In career- or job-related courses1			In apprentice- ship programs			In personal-interest courses			In informal learning activities for personal interest
																										In thousands	Per employed adult
1	2			3			4			5			6		7			8			9			10		11	12
Total	31.1		(0.54)	0.8		(0.02)	30.5		(1.14)	0.7		(0.03)	133,386	(1,508.1)	38.8		(0.83)	1.4		(0.24)	21.8		(0.94)	73.5	(1.01)	108,443	0.8		(0.03)
Sex
Male	29.0		(0.72)	0.7		(0.02)	28.3		(1.15)	0.6		(0.03)	71,754	(934.7)	31.7		(1.22)	2.0		(0.37)	18.5		(1.30)	73.4	(1.52)	44,512	0.6		(0.03)
Female	33.4		(0.83)	0.9		(0.03)	32.9		(1.14)	0.8		(0.03)	61,632	(1,219.3)	47.1		(1.43)	0.8		(0.23)	25.8		(1.23)	73.6	(1.37)	63,931	1.0		(0.05)
Age
17 through 24 years old	18.6		(1.01)	0.4		(0.02)	19.1		(1.91)	0.4		(0.06)	15,027	(1,030.4)	26.4		(3.01)	3.0	!	(1.03)	25.2		(3.37)	71.4	(3.15)	8,024	0.5		(0.09)
25 through 29 years old	31.2		(1.46)	0.8		(0.05)	34.3		(2.44)	0.8		(0.08)	14,555	(918.4)	36.1		(2.94)	3.1	!	(1.12)	24.5		(3.66)	70.9	(4.49)	9,493	0.7		(0.06)
30 through 34 years old	31.6		(1.30)	0.8		(0.04)	34.4		(2.50)	0.8		(0.08)	15,250	(977.2)	41.0		(3.06)	2.7	!	(1.10)	23.7		(2.63)	74.0	(2.54)	12,681	0.8		(0.07)
35 through 39 years old	35.1		(1.02)	0.9		(0.03)	29.2		(2.15)	0.7		(0.07)	15,286	(922.4)	41.7		(4.16)	1.0	!	(0.46)	21.6		(3.15)	77.7	(3.00)	13,807	0.9		(0.14)
40 through 44 years old	36.6		(1.29)	0.9		(0.04)	36.4		(2.44)	0.8		(0.07)	18,141	(946.3)	39.8		(2.73)	‡		(†)	23.3		(2.60)	71.2	(3.15)	15,586	0.9		(0.07)
45 through 49 years old	39.6		(1.94)	1.0		(0.06)	30.4		(2.42)	0.7		(0.06)	18,149	(842.5)	45.0		(2.15)	0.7	!	(0.29)	19.0		(2.09)	73.5	(2.68)	16,809	0.9		(0.06)
50 through 54 years old	34.4		(1.69)	0.9		(0.04)	34.7		(2.57)	0.8		(0.07)	14,624	(732.1)	42.6		(2.49)	0.7	!	(0.32)	19.5		(1.92)	76.3	(2.27)	14,881	1.0		(0.10)
55 through 59 years old	26.7		(1.86)	0.7		(0.06)	30.3		(2.83)	0.6		(0.08)	10,522	(676.0)	44.7		(2.98)	‡		(†)	18.3		(1.93)	73.0	(2.95)	9,901	0.9		(0.09)
60 through 64 years old	21.1		(2.41)	0.5		(0.06)	27.2		(3.80)	0.7		(0.15)	6,021	(498.8)	38.9		(3.97)	‡		(†)	23.4		(3.52)	73.0	(4.22)	4,919	0.8		(0.10)
65 years old and over	13.7		(1.86)	0.4		(0.06)	20.3		(4.21)	0.4		(0.08)	5,812	(493.3)	21.6		(3.48)	#		(†)	17.4		(3.13)	74.2	(3.75)	2,343	0.4		(0.07)
65 through 69	13.1		(2.28)	0.4		(0.08)	—		(†)	—		(†)	3,385	(415.5)	19.1		(4.05)	#		(†)	20.9		(4.88)	75.4	(5.18)	1,102	0.3		(0.08)
70 and over	14.6		(2.85)	0.4		(0.09)	—		(†)	—		(†)	2,427	(282.3)	25.1		(5.81)	#		(†)	12.6		(2.93)	72.6	(6.11)	1,241	0.5		(0.14)
Race/ethnicity
White	33.2		(0.61)	0.8		(0.02)	32.8		(0.98)	0.6		(0.03)	94,881	(1,538.6)	41.3		(0.93)	1.2		(0.25)	22.2		(1.11)	75.3	(1.17)	82,511	0.9		(0.03)
Black	26.2		(1.46)	0.7		(0.04)	28.1		(2.34)	1.0		(0.07)	13,773	(533.2)	39.2		(3.82)	1.7	!	(0.83)	23.5		(3.04)	66.9	(3.02)	10,311	0.7		(0.11)
Hispanic	18.1		(1.00)	0.4		(0.02)	16.4		(1.83)	0.5		(0.05)	15,741	(681.1)	25.0		(2.66)	2.9		(0.85)	16.2		(2.31)	65.8	(3.39)	8,786	0.6		(0.11)
Asian	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	3,770	(520.7)	36.9		(7.00)	‡		(†)	32.3		(7.26)	81.1	(5.88)	2,207	0.6		(0.12)
Pacific Islander	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	‡	(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡	(†)	‡	‡		(†)
Asian/Pacific Islander	25.5		(2.69)	0.6		(0.07)	32.8		(4.84)	0.4	!	(0.15)	—	(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—	(†)	—	—		(†)
American Indian/Alaska Native	34.0		(6.32)	0.9		(0.20)	29.5	!	(11.52)	‡		(†)	‡	(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡	(†)	‡	‡		(†)
Two or more races	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	3,786	(562.7)	39.1		(6.85)	‡		(†)	22.6		(6.34)	77.6	(8.40)	3,083	0.8		(0.15)
Other races	25.3		(2.99)	0.7		(0.09)	—		(†)	—		(†)	‡	(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡	(†)	‡	‡		(†)
Highest level of education
completed
Less than high school completion	8.8		(1.05)	0.1		(0.02)	7.9		(2.29)	0.4		(0.05)	16,627	(838.2)	10.4		(2.11)	2.4	!	(0.90)	8.8		(1.54)	57.0	(3.76)	2,592	0.2		(0.03)
8th grade or less	6.1	!	(2.00)	0.1	!	(0.04)	—		(†)	—		(†)	5,016	(599.7)	2.7	!	(1.12)	‡		(†)	3.8	!	(1.71)	46.7	(7.11)	197	#		(†)
9th through 12th grade,
no completion	10.0		(1.27)	0.2		(0.02)	—		(†)	—		(†)	11,610	(792.8)	13.7		(2.99)	‡		(†)	11.0		(2.06)	61.5	(4.05)	2,396	0.2		(0.04)
High school completion	20.9		(0.79)	0.4		(0.02)	21.4		(1.45)	0.8		(0.03)	34,121	(1,147.2)	24.7		(1.76)	1.3	!	(0.46)	17.1		(1.89)	63.4	(2.55)	16,640	0.5		(0.05)
Some vocational/technical	32.3		(2.50)	0.8		(0.07)	28.7		(5.76)	0.9		(0.17)	3,744	(393.1)	48.2		(5.92)	‡		(†)	25.5		(4.61)	74.0	(5.54)	3,802	1.0		(0.17)
Some college	29.9		(0.91)	0.7		(0.03)	29.0		(1.78)	0.7		(0.06)	24,479	(1,067.7)	39.9		(2.36)	1.9	!	(0.69)	25.2		(2.50)	79.8	(2.04)	18,437	0.8		(0.05)
Associate's degree	39.2		(1.58)	1.0		(0.05)	39.7		(3.07)	0.9		(0.09)	9,943	(730.7)	50.4		(3.71)	2.3	!	(0.84)	19.1		(2.86)	78.4	(3.88)	14,224	1.4		(0.21)
Bachelor's degree	44.6		(1.33)	1.2		(0.04)	43.8		(2.01)	1.0		(0.06)	26,475	(902.7)	53.1		(1.88)	‡		(†)	29.0		(1.77)	78.7	(1.94)	28,099	1.1		(0.06)
Some graduate work (or study)	50.2		(1.63)	1.4		(0.05)	46.8		(4.17)	1.2		(0.14)	17,998	(735.4)	61.1		(2.16)	‡		(†)	28.6		(2.01)	88.8	(1.16)	24,649	1.4		(0.07)
No degree	44.3		(3.18)	1.2		(0.10)	54.2		(4.94)	1.2		(0.14)	2,125	(227.9)	53.8		(5.79)	‡		(†)	39.3		(6.05)	75.0	(5.64)	2,412	1.1		(0.16)
Master's	50.5		(1.99)	1.4		(0.06)	45.3		(2.97)	1.1		(0.11)	11,330	(614.7)	62.7		(2.98)	‡		(†)	28.2		(2.27)	90.5	(1.40)	15,394	1.4		(0.09)
Doctor's	40.4		(6.42)	1.0		(0.16)	34.4		(4.79)	0.7		(0.12)	1,600	(227.2)	49.0		(5.80)	‡		(†)	28.8		(4.76)	87.8	(4.35)	2,204	1.4		(0.36)
Professional	67.6		(3.89)	2.0		(0.15)	67.6		(6.98)	1.9		(0.31)	2,943	(382.7)	66.5		(6.39)	‡		(†)	22.1		(5.05)	92.9	(2.21)	4,639	1.6		(0.21)
Locale2
City	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	39,283	(1,391.3)	39.6		(1.67)	2.2		(0.60)	23.1		(1.43)	74.0	(1.77)	34,327	0.9		(0.05)
Suburban	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	48,452	(1,555.0)	41.1		(1.87)	1.2		(0.32)	23.3		(1.38)	74.2	(1.49)	39,802	0.8		(0.04)
Town	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	17,616	(1,060.7)	36.0		(2.64)	‡		(†)	19.6		(2.83)	71.7	(3.02)	12,947	0.7		(0.07)
Rural	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	27,847	(885.2)	35.4		(2.14)	1.4	!	(0.58)	19.0		(2.19)	72.7	(2.22)	21,135	0.8		(0.06)
Occupation
Executive, administrative, or
managerial occupations	42.9		(1.49)	1.2		(0.05)	40.6		(2.06)	1.0		(0.07)	14,596	(707.6)	53.6		(2.79)	‡		(†)	29.5		(2.89)	77.7	(2.87)	16,567	1.1		(0.09)
Engineers, surveyors,
and architects	44.2		(4.46)	1.1		(0.12)	52.1		(6.96)	1.0		(0.16)	1,987	(244.9)	56.3		(5.68)	‡		(†)	30.5		(6.36)	81.0	(4.73)	2,323	1.2		(0.16)
Natural scientists and
mathematicians	59.7		(3.97)	1.7		(0.15)	46.0		(6.61)	0.8		(0.14)	4,130	(445.4)	51.5		(5.64)	‡		(†)	31.2		(4.83)	85.3	(5.44)	3,693	0.9		(0.11)
Social scientists and workers,
religious workers, and lawyers	59.5		(2.61)	1.8		(0.11)	56.9		(5.66)	1.7		(0.24)	4,697	(480.9)	66.8		(4.48)	‡		(†)	28.3		(3.81)	88.6	(2.95)	7,822	1.7		(0.29)
Teachers, elementary/secondary	53.9		(2.23)	1.5		(0.08)	52.1		(3.53)	1.2		(0.11)	7,085	(568.5)	67.7		(4.16)	‡		(†)	31.5		(3.93)	83.0	(2.79)	12,233	1.7		(0.13)
Teachers, postsecondary and
counselors, librarians, and
archivists	41.6		(4.57)	1.0		(0.15)	35.6		(5.85)	0.7		(0.14)	2,393	(420.9)	53.1		(8.63)	‡		(†)	17.7		(4.91)	90.9	(3.97)	2,122	0.9		(0.09)
Health diagnosing and treating
practitioners	68.6		(5.85)	2.0		(0.23)	65.2		(11.99)	1.5	!	(0.50)	978	(208.8)	78.9		(7.10)	‡		(†)	27.4	!	(9.60)	86.6	(5.37)	1,951	2.0		(0.25)
Registered nurses, pharmacists,
dieticians, therapists, and
physician's assistants	72.8		(3.02)	2.2		(0.14)	72.2		(5.04)	1.8		(0.21)	2,794	(238.8)	79.7		(4.60)	‡		(†)	29.4		(4.17)	84.3	(3.70)	4,984	1.8		(0.15)
Writers, artists, entertainers,
and athletes	23.4		(2.89)	0.5		(0.07)	30.6		(6.21)	0.6		(0.18)	2,969	(405.2)	29.9		(5.69)	‡		(†)	31.8		(6.15)	88.9	(4.39)	1,865	0.6		(0.15)
Health technologists and
technicians	50.0		(4.08)	1.4		(0.12)	41.8		(6.00)	1.0		(0.19)	3,060	(436.7)	70.6		(7.31)	‡		(†)	27.8		(6.48)	77.5	(6.40)	4,473	1.5		(0.18)
Technologists and technicians,
except health	43.8		(2.67)	1.1		(0.10)	37.6		(4.87)	1.0		(0.15)	1,774	(336.5)	29.4		(8.10)	‡		(†)	5.3	!	(2.02)	75.2	(8.98)	1,015	0.6		(0.17)
Marketing and sales occupations	25.2		(1.26)	0.6		(0.03)	21.1		(2.27)	0.4		(0.06)	14,845	(971.9)	32.3		(3.17)	‡		(†)	20.8		(2.64)	70.5	(3.53)	7,724	0.5		(0.05)
Administrative support occupa-
tions, including clerical	30.8		(1.15)	0.7		(0.03)	27.4		(2.02)	0.6		(0.05)	21,167	(1,179.4)	36.1		(2.95)	0.8	!	(0.40)	28.2		(2.28)	72.9	(2.37)	15,443	0.7		(0.10)
Service occupations	22.6		(1.25)	0.6		(0.04)	21.0		(2.15)	0.5		(0.07)	17,180	(1,033.7)	33.7		(3.13)	1.1	!	(0.36)	16.2		(2.31)	69.0	(2.74)	13,029	0.8		(0.10)
Agriculture, forestry, and
fishing occupations	12.4		(2.47)	0.3		(0.07)	12.2	!	(4.09)	0.2	!	(0.07)	2,522	(423.8)	22.4	!	(7.61)	‡		(†)	23.0	!	(11.03)	62.9	(11.04)	960	0.4	!	(0.12)
Mechanics and repairers	29.1		(2.62)	0.7		(0.08)	15.0		(3.40)	0.3		(0.09)	5,241	(521.6)	28.3		(4.47)	4.0	!	(1.44)	12.6		(3.24)	69.3	(4.36)	2,669	0.5		(0.09)
Construction and extractive
occupations	18.6		(2.33)	0.3		(0.04)	13.2		(3.16)	0.2		(0.06)	6,827	(647.1)	12.4		(3.04)	5.3	!	(2.26)	7.8		(1.88)	69.0	(5.25)	2,323	0.3	!	(0.13)
Precision production3	25.6		(4.04)	0.6		(0.12)	18.3	!	(6.52)	0.4	!	(0.12)	10,483	(839.3)	23.5		(3.79)	‡		(†)	14.0		(3.34)	64.9	(3.74)	4,904	0.5		(0.07)
Production workers	14.8		(1.13)	0.3		(0.02)	23.0		(3.17)	0.5		(0.08)	—	(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—	(†)	—	—		(†)
Transportation and material moving	15.8		(1.83)	0.3		(0.04)	18.4		(3.62)	0.3		(0.06)	7,858	(742.5)	15.2		(2.81)	‡		(†)	10.5		(3.10)	62.5	(5.32)	1,935	0.2		(0.05)
Handlers, equipment cleaners,
helpers, and laborers	11.7		(2.77)	0.2		(0.06)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	—	(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—	(†)	—	—		(†)
Miscellaneous occupations	38.8		(3.50)	1.0		(0.11)	14.2	!	(4.62)	0.3	!	(0.08)	801	(189.4)	17.2	!	(6.87)	‡		(†)	8.7	!	4.3	48.3	(13.96)	409	‡		(†)
Annual household income
$10,000 or less	12.6		(1.31)	0.2		(0.03)	9.5	!	(3.09)	0.2	!	(0.05)	4,425	(444.8)	16.7		(4.35)	‡		(†)	26.2	!	(7.96)	69.7	(5.72)	1,556	0.4	!	(0.12)
$5,000 or less	8.7		(1.91)	0.1		(0.03)	—		(†)	—		(†)	1,635	(252.7)	19.1	!	(6.52)	‡		(†)	22.9	!	(7.91)	60.9	(8.84)	850	‡		(†)
$5,001 to $10,000	15.1		(1.62)	0.3		(0.04)	—		(†)	—		(†)	2,791	(454.1)	15.3	!	(5.68)	‡		(†)	28.1	!	(12.27)	74.8	(6.88)	706	0.3	!	(0.10)
$10,001 to $15,000	15.1		(1.71)	0.4		(0.04)	8.3		(1.88)	0.1		(0.03)	4,814	(633.4)	22.2		(5.77)	‡		(†)	17.3	!	(5.25)	64.5	(7.57)	2,189	0.5		(0.12)
$15,001 to $20,000	20.1		(1.36)	0.4		(0.03)	16.3		(2.75)	0.3		(0.05)	4,515	(398.8)	18.2		(3.09)	5.7	!	(2.71)	11.5		(1.96)	60.4	(5.11)	1,322	0.3		(0.05)
$20,001 to $25,000	20.4		(1.52)	0.5		(0.05)	18.8		(2.79)	0.4		(0.08)	5,593	(490.2)	23.8		(4.02)	1.1	!	(0.51)	13.3		(3.21)	71.5	(4.11)	2,817	0.5		(0.10)
$25,001 to $30,000	24.7		(1.34)	0.5		(0.03)	22.2		(2.73)	0.5		(0.07)	7,444	(680.4)	31.4		(4.88)	‡		(†)	16.7		(3.77)	73.5	(3.91)	4,322	0.6		(0.11)
$30,001 to $40,000	30.2		(1.13)	0.8		(0.03)	26.6		(2.82)	0.6		(0.07)	13,123	(928.5)	35.1		(3.45)	1.5	!	(0.65)	21.7		(3.71)	69.1	(3.55)	8,224	0.6		(0.06)
$40,001 to $50,000	34.7		(1.30)	0.8		(0.04)	32.3		(2.34)	0.7		(0.07)	13,647	(1,058.4)	31.5		(3.01)	1.8	!	(0.72)	20.1		(3.32)	73.5	(2.78)	10,072	0.7		(0.10)
$50,001 to $75,000	40.0		(1.18)	1.0		(0.04)	36.6		(1.86)	0.9		(0.06)	33,665	(1,430.4)	42.7		(1.80)	1.2	!	(0.51)	20.9		(2.10)	71.3	(2.55)	28,991	0.9		(0.06)
More than $75,000	45.2		(1.40)	1.3		(0.04)	42.5		(1.79)	1.0		(0.06)	46,160	(1,263.3)	48.1		(1.57)	1.3	!	(0.39)	26.0		(1.37)	79.2	(1.55)	48,951	1.1		(0.05)

—Not available.

†Not applicable.

#Rounds to zero.

!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.

‡Reporting standards not met. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 50 percent or greater.

1 The 2005 estimates on participation in career- or job-related courses were based on responses to multiple questions. Specifically, respondents were first asked what courses they had taken, and then whether each course was career- or job-related. In contrast, 1995 and 1999 respondents were asked a single, general question about whether they had participated in any career- or job-related courses. Therefore, 2005 results may not be comparable to results from the earlier years.

2 Detail may not sum to totals due to missing locale information.

3 For 2005, figures include "Production workers" occupations data.

NOTE: Data do not include persons enrolled in high school or below. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Adult Education Survey (AE-NHES:1995, AE-NHES:1999, and AE-NHES:2005) of the National Household Education Surveys Program. (This table was prepared October 2010.)