Youth Indicators 1996 / Indicator 64, Chart 1

Indicator 64. Employment of High School Graduates

Labor force participation and unemployment of high school graduates in year of graduation, by college enrollment status: October 1965 to October 1994

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment of School-Age Youth, Graduates, and Dropouts, various years; and unpublished tabulations.

Between 1965 and 1994, the percentage of noncollege-bound high school graduates entering the labor force changed little. The apparent dip in 1970 was caused by the entry of young men into the military rather than the civilian labor force. In contrast, the proportion of college entrants who were also in the labor force rose from 28 percent in 1965 to 46 percent in 1994. Since the early 1980s, the proportion of high school students going on to college immediately after high school has risen.