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Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 501.10. Labor force participation, employment, and unemployment of persons 25 to 64 years old, by sex, race/ethnicity, age group, and educational attainment: 2014, 2015, and 2016
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Sex, race/ethnicity, age group, and educational attainment Labor force participation Employment Unemployment
Labor force participation rate1 Number of participants (in thousands) Employment to population ratio2 Number employed
(in thousands)
Unemployment rate3 Number unemployed (in thousands)
2014 2015 2016 2016 2014 2015 2016 2016 2014 2015 2016 2016
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
                                                             
All persons 25 to 64 years old, all
    education levels
77.1 (0.04) 77.1 (0.04) 77.3   (0.04) 130,423   (82.9) 72.5 (0.05) 73.1 (0.04) 73.7   (0.05) 124,270   (89.9) 6.0 (0.03) 5.2 (0.03) 4.7   (0.02) 6,152   (29.9)
Less than high school completion 60.2 (0.15) 60.1 (0.14) 60.2   (0.13) 11,659   (48.6) 53.6 (0.15) 54.3 (0.16) 55.0   (0.14) 10,650   (45.7) 11.0 (0.13) 9.6 (0.12) 8.7   (0.11) 1,009   (13.3)
High school completion4 72.3 (0.09) 71.9 (0.08) 72.0   (0.09) 31,478   (86.1) 66.7 (0.09) 67.0 (0.08) 67.5   (0.09) 29,511   (84.5) 7.8 (0.07) 6.9 (0.06) 6.3   (0.06) 1,968   (18.7)
Some college, no degree 77.5 (0.09) 77.4 (0.09) 77.5   (0.08) 27,347   (66.0) 72.4 (0.10) 73.0 (0.10) 73.5   (0.09) 25,942   (64.1) 6.5 (0.06) 5.6 (0.05) 5.1   (0.05) 1,405   (13.0)
Associate's degree 81.6 (0.13) 81.7 (0.13) 81.5   (0.14) 12,445   (49.1) 77.5 (0.15) 78.3 (0.13) 78.3   (0.14) 11,960   (46.5) 5.1 (0.08) 4.2 (0.08) 3.9   (0.07) 486   (9.6)
Bachelor's or higher degree 85.8 (0.06) 86.0 (0.06) 86.2   (0.06) 47,493   (122.8) 83.0 (0.07) 83.5 (0.06) 83.9   (0.07) 46,207   (119.8) 3.3 (0.04) 2.9 (0.03) 2.7   (0.03) 1,285   (14.6)
                                                             
Sex                                                            
Male, all education levels 82.6 (0.05) 82.5 (0.06) 82.6   (0.05) 68,675   (50.7) 77.6 (0.06) 78.2 (0.06) 78.7   (0.06) 65,432   (54.0) 6.0 (0.04) 5.2 (0.03) 4.7   (0.04) 3,243   (25.3)
Less than high school completion 69.9 (0.18) 69.5 (0.20) 69.4   (0.18) 7,389   (37.5) 63.0 (0.19) 63.5 (0.21) 64.0   (0.19) 6,821   (35.6) 9.9 (0.16) 8.7 (0.12) 7.7   (0.13) 569   (10.2)
High school completion4 78.3 (0.12) 77.9 (0.12) 77.8   (0.12) 18,289   (54.0) 72.2 (0.13) 72.5 (0.12) 72.9   (0.12) 17,142   (52.0) 7.8 (0.09) 6.9 (0.08) 6.3   (0.08) 1,147   (14.7)
Some college, no degree 82.7 (0.12) 82.8 (0.12) 82.8   (0.12) 14,172   (47.9) 77.5 (0.12) 78.3 (0.13) 78.7   (0.12) 13,478   (46.1) 6.2 (0.08) 5.4 (0.08) 4.9   (0.07) 694   (9.7)
Associate's degree 86.4 (0.19) 86.3 (0.17) 86.4   (0.16) 5,621   (30.9) 82.0 (0.21) 82.7 (0.18) 83.0   (0.16) 5,398   (29.1) 5.0 (0.11) 4.1 (0.10) 4.0   (0.10) 223   (5.9)
Bachelor's or higher degree 91.1 (0.07) 91.4 (0.07) 91.4   (0.07) 23,203   (64.2) 88.2 (0.08) 88.8 (0.08) 89.0   (0.09) 22,594   (62.5) 3.3 (0.05) 2.9 (0.05) 2.6   (0.05) 609   (10.7)
                                                             
Female, all education levels 71.8 (0.05) 71.8 (0.06) 72.2   (0.06) 61,748   (59.1) 67.5 (0.06) 68.1 (0.06) 68.8   (0.06) 58,838   (63.3) 6.0 (0.04) 5.2 (0.04) 4.7   (0.03) 2,910   (21.2)
Less than high school completion 48.7 (0.19) 48.6 (0.17) 49.0   (0.20) 4,270   (25.6) 42.4 (0.19) 43.1 (0.20) 44.0   (0.21) 3,830   (24.0) 12.9 (0.20) 11.3 (0.23) 10.3   (0.19) 440   (8.7)
High school completion4 65.3 (0.12) 65.1 (0.12) 65.2   (0.14) 13,189   (53.4) 60.2 (0.12) 60.6 (0.12) 61.2   (0.16) 12,369   (53.1) 7.8 (0.10) 6.9 (0.09) 6.2   (0.09) 821   (11.9)
Some college, no degree 72.7 (0.12) 72.3 (0.13) 72.6   (0.12) 13,175   (41.1) 67.7 (0.13) 68.1 (0.14) 68.6   (0.12) 12,464   (39.3) 6.9 (0.10) 5.9 (0.08) 5.4   (0.08) 711   (10.9)
Associate's degree 78.1 (0.17) 78.4 (0.19) 77.9   (0.19) 6,824   (31.4) 74.2 (0.17) 75.0 (0.17) 74.9   (0.20) 6,562   (29.9) 5.1 (0.10) 4.3 (0.11) 3.8   (0.09) 263   (6.5)
Bachelor's or higher degree 81.3 (0.09) 81.4 (0.08) 81.8   (0.09) 24,289   (75.4) 78.5 (0.09) 79.0 (0.08) 79.5   (0.10) 23,614   (74.6) 3.4 (0.05) 3.0 (0.04) 2.8   (0.04) 676   (8.9)
                                                             
Race/ethnicity                                                            
White, all education levels 78.1 (0.05) 78.0 (0.05) 78.3   (0.05) 81,993   (52.2) 74.2 (0.05) 74.7 (0.05) 75.2   (0.05) 78,804   (56.3) 4.9 (0.03) 4.3 (0.03) 3.9   (0.03) 3,189   (20.8)
Less than high school completion 53.3 (0.26) 53.2 (0.25) 52.9   (0.27) 3,439   (25.3) 46.5 (0.26) 47.2 (0.26) 47.7   (0.28) 3,102   (24.8) 12.8 (0.23) 11.3 (0.21) 9.8   (0.24) 337   (8.3)
High school completion4 72.2 (0.11) 71.8 (0.10) 71.8   (0.11) 19,082   (61.7) 67.5 (0.11) 67.6 (0.11) 68.0   (0.11) 18,065   (59.6) 6.5 (0.07) 5.9 (0.07) 5.3   (0.07) 1,017   (14.0)
Some college, no degree 77.4 (0.10) 77.1 (0.10) 77.3   (0.10) 17,278   (47.2) 73.1 (0.10) 73.4 (0.11) 73.9   (0.10) 16,525   (46.8) 5.5 (0.06) 4.7 (0.06) 4.4   (0.06) 753   (10.5)
Associate's degree 81.8 (0.17) 81.6 (0.14) 81.7   (0.16) 8,514   (38.0) 78.3 (0.19) 78.7 (0.14) 79.0   (0.15) 8,237   (36.1) 4.3 (0.10) 3.6 (0.08) 3.3   (0.07) 277   (6.3)
Bachelor's or higher degree 86.0 (0.07) 86.3 (0.06) 86.5   (0.07) 33,680   (77.8) 83.5 (0.07) 84.1 (0.07) 84.5   (0.08) 32,875   (77.6) 2.9 (0.03) 2.5 (0.03) 2.4   (0.03) 805   (10.4)
                                                             
Black, all education levels 72.9 (0.14) 73.2 (0.12) 73.4   (0.14) 15,351   (35.4) 65.0 (0.14) 66.3 (0.14) 67.3   (0.14) 14,094   (36.5) 10.8 (0.10) 9.3 (0.12) 8.2   (0.10) 1,257   (15.2)
Less than high school completion 47.1 (0.40) 46.9 (0.40) 46.9   (0.47) 1,199   (18.9) 36.8 (0.40) 37.4 (0.43) 38.6   (0.43) 988   (16.2) 22.0 (0.51) 20.3 (0.52) 17.6   (0.51) 211   (7.2)
High school completion4 68.1 (0.25) 67.8 (0.29) 67.9   (0.27) 4,453   (27.2) 58.9 (0.27) 59.8 (0.30) 60.8   (0.28) 3,986   (26.9) 13.5 (0.23) 11.7 (0.21) 10.5   (0.20) 467   (9.1)
Some college, no degree 76.5 (0.26) 76.9 (0.24) 77.1   (0.23) 4,155   (26.9) 68.5 (0.26) 70.0 (0.26) 71.1   (0.26) 3,828   (25.7) 10.5 (0.21) 9.0 (0.19) 7.9   (0.17) 327   (7.4)
Associate's degree 81.0 (0.33) 82.2 (0.41) 81.5   (0.36) 1,528   (16.6) 74.6 (0.41) 76.9 (0.45) 76.6   (0.39) 1,437   (15.8) 8.0 (0.30) 6.5 (0.29) 6.0   (0.27) 92   (4.4)
Bachelor's or higher degree 88.2 (0.19) 88.2 (0.18) 88.2   (0.17) 4,016   (29.1) 83.4 (0.20) 84.2 (0.20) 84.7   (0.21) 3,856   (28.3) 5.4 (0.17) 4.5 (0.16) 4.0   (0.14) 161   (5.7)
                                                             
Hispanic, all education levels 76.9 (0.11) 76.8 (0.10) 77.0   (0.10) 21,792   (35.3) 71.7 (0.11) 72.4 (0.11) 72.8   (0.11) 20,624   (36.1) 6.8 (0.08) 5.8 (0.07) 5.4   (0.08) 1,168   (16.8)
Less than high school completion 69.6 (0.21) 69.2 (0.21) 69.6   (0.20) 6,084   (30.2) 64.1 (0.23) 64.6 (0.23) 65.1   (0.21) 5,692   (28.9) 7.8 (0.16) 6.7 (0.14) 6.4   (0.14) 392   (8.9)
High school completion4 76.5 (0.22) 76.2 (0.21) 76.1   (0.23) 6,127   (30.8) 70.9 (0.23) 71.4 (0.22) 71.7   (0.25) 5,770   (29.8) 7.3 (0.16) 6.2 (0.12) 5.8   (0.15) 357   (9.6)
Some college, no degree 80.4 (0.25) 80.6 (0.22) 80.2   (0.25) 4,147   (23.8) 75.2 (0.24) 76.0 (0.25) 76.0   (0.27) 3,930   (24.3) 6.5 (0.15) 5.7 (0.15) 5.2   (0.18) 217   (7.3)
Associate's degree 83.2 (0.41) 84.1 (0.38) 82.3   (0.40) 1,525   (18.7) 78.1 (0.48) 80.0 (0.40) 78.3   (0.43) 1,451   (18.0) 6.1 (0.30) 4.9 (0.25) 4.8   (0.23) 74   (3.7)
Bachelor's or higher degree 86.4 (0.18) 86.4 (0.21) 86.7   (0.21) 3,909   (32.0) 82.4 (0.23) 83.0 (0.23) 83.9   (0.22) 3,781   (30.9) 4.6 (0.17) 3.9 (0.13) 3.3   (0.11) 128   (4.5)
                                                             
Asian, all education levels 78.1 (0.13) 78.2 (0.17) 78.4   (0.17) 7,946   (24.2) 74.4 (0.15) 74.7 (0.17) 75.4   (0.17) 7,650   (24.9) 4.7 (0.10) 4.5 (0.09) 3.7   (0.10) 297   (7.8)
Less than high school completion 63.1 (0.55) 63.3 (0.66) 64.6   (0.54) 695   (10.8) 58.5 (0.55) 59.0 (0.64) 61.5   (0.49) 662   (10.1) 7.3 (0.38) 6.8 (0.42) 4.8   (0.34) 34   (2.5)
High school completion4 73.6 (0.48) 73.5 (0.43) 73.6   (0.53) 1,026   (17.7) 68.6 (0.53) 69.1 (0.46) 70.2   (0.50) 978   (16.6) 6.7 (0.38) 6.0 (0.33) 4.7   (0.28) 48   (3.1)
Some college, no degree 76.5 (0.51) 77.3 (0.46) 76.4   (0.46) 922   (13.1) 72.1 (0.53) 73.1 (0.50) 72.9   (0.49) 879   (12.6) 5.7 (0.30) 5.3 (0.31) 4.6   (0.28) 43   (2.7)
Associate's degree 78.7 (0.69) 78.4 (0.64) 78.4   (0.65) 534   (9.9) 75.0 (0.67) 74.9 (0.67) 75.1   (0.69) 511   (9.6) 4.8 (0.33) 4.5 (0.37) 4.2   (0.38) 23   (2.1)
Bachelor's or higher degree 82.5 (0.20) 82.4 (0.20) 82.5   (0.19) 4,769   (24.5) 79.6 (0.22) 79.5 (0.22) 79.9   (0.20) 4,619   (23.9) 3.6 (0.11) 3.6 (0.10) 3.1   (0.12) 150   (5.9)
                                                             
American Indian/Alaska Native, all
     education levels
64.4 (0.51) 65.4 (0.61) 65.5   (0.48) 715   (9.3) 57.2 (0.54) 58.4 (0.60) 58.2   (0.51) 635   (8.6) 11.2 (0.42) 10.6 (0.37) 11.1   (0.44) 80   (3.4)
Less than high school completion 43.0 (1.43) 44.9 (1.29) 42.1   (1.29) 70   (3.2) 33.3 (1.31) 35.8 (1.11) 34.1   (1.27) 57   (2.9) 22.5 (1.26) 20.3 (1.58) 18.8   (1.51) 13   (1.2)
High school completion4 60.9 (0.83) 62.5 (0.96) 63.1   (0.82) 234   (5.0) 53.0 (0.94) 54.0 (1.02) 53.7   (0.86) 199   (4.8) 12.9 (0.90) 13.7 (0.84) 14.9   (0.84) 35   (2.0)
Some college, no degree 67.5 (0.99) 67.8 (1.09) 69.1   (0.94) 202   (5.0) 60.6 (1.10) 60.9 (1.18) 61.9   (1.01) 181   (4.8) 10.2 (0.73) 10.2 (0.87) 10.4   (0.98) 21   (2.1)
Associate's degree 75.5 (1.68) 75.0 (1.58) 74.8   (1.42) 77   (2.9) 67.9 (1.72) 71.8 (1.68) 69.6   (1.57) 72   (2.8) 10.0 (1.10) 4.2 (0.97) 6.9   (1.03) 5   (0.8)
Bachelor's or higher degree 82.3 (1.16) 83.3 (1.13) 82.8   (1.01) 133   (4.9) 78.9 (1.24) 79.8 (1.12) 79.3   (1.05) 127   (4.4) 4.2 (0.67) 4.3 (0.65) 4.2   (0.68) 6   (1.0)
                                                             
Age group                                                            
25 to 34, all education levels 81.8 (0.07) 82.0 (0.09) 82.2   (0.07) 36,142   (40.5) 75.6 (0.09) 76.5 (0.09) 77.3   (0.08) 33,996   (43.8) 7.6 (0.07) 6.7 (0.06) 5.9   (0.05) 2,146   (16.5)
Less than high school completion 64.6 (0.32) 64.1 (0.30) 63.8   (0.25) 2,797   (22.8) 55.0 (0.33) 55.0 (0.34) 55.9   (0.27) 2,452   (20.5) 14.8 (0.30) 14.2 (0.29) 12.3   (0.26) 345   (8.0)
High school completion4 76.9 (0.16) 76.8 (0.17) 76.8   (0.20) 8,036   (37.5) 68.5 (0.19) 69.1 (0.19) 69.9   (0.21) 7,310   (36.5) 11.0 (0.16) 10.0 (0.16) 9.0   (0.13) 726   (11.0)
Some college, no degree 82.0 (0.15) 82.3 (0.18) 82.6   (0.15) 8,103   (39.7) 75.0 (0.19) 76.2 (0.18) 77.2   (0.18) 7,569   (37.9) 8.6 (0.15) 7.3 (0.12) 6.6   (0.11) 534   (9.2)
Associate's degree 86.5 (0.22) 86.7 (0.25) 86.3   (0.23) 3,382   (26.7) 81.2 (0.30) 82.3 (0.27) 82.2   (0.25) 3,223   (25.9) 6.1 (0.20) 5.1 (0.15) 4.7   (0.17) 159   (5.8)
Bachelor's or higher degree 89.4 (0.11) 89.6 (0.11) 89.9   (0.10) 13,824   (57.1) 86.3 (0.11) 86.8 (0.12) 87.4   (0.11) 13,443   (54.8) 3.5 (0.07) 3.1 (0.06) 2.8   (0.05) 381   (7.7)
                                                             
35 to 44, all education levels 82.1 (0.10) 82.0 (0.07) 82.3   (0.08) 33,433   (42.7) 77.3 (0.09) 77.9 (0.08) 78.4   (0.08) 31,868   (41.7) 5.8 (0.06) 5.0 (0.05) 4.7   (0.05) 1,565   (16.6)
Less than high school completion 67.3 (0.28) 67.0 (0.24) 67.8   (0.26) 3,355   (23.5) 60.1 (0.30) 61.1 (0.26) 62.1   (0.25) 3,073   (22.1) 10.8 (0.25) 8.8 (0.20) 8.4   (0.20) 282   (7.2)
High school completion4 78.0 (0.18) 77.2 (0.17) 77.4   (0.21) 7,438   (40.1) 71.6 (0.20) 71.7 (0.18) 72.3   (0.22) 6,950   (38.6) 8.1 (0.13) 7.2 (0.13) 6.6   (0.13) 488   (10.1)
Some college, no degree 82.4 (0.18) 82.6 (0.16) 82.4   (0.17) 6,658   (32.1) 77.1 (0.20) 77.9 (0.20) 78.1   (0.19) 6,307   (31.8) 6.5 (0.12) 5.6 (0.12) 5.3   (0.12) 351   (7.8)
Associate's degree 86.2 (0.24) 86.4 (0.25) 86.1   (0.24) 3,236   (25.3) 82.0 (0.28) 82.8 (0.25) 82.7   (0.27) 3,107   (24.6) 4.9 (0.18) 4.2 (0.15) 4.0   (0.16) 129   (5.3)
Bachelor's or higher degree 89.1 (0.11) 89.2 (0.10) 89.5   (0.08) 12,746   (46.5) 86.5 (0.11) 87.0 (0.11) 87.3   (0.09) 12,431   (46.3) 2.9 (0.06) 2.5 (0.06) 2.5   (0.05) 315   (6.6)
                                                             
45 to 54, all education levels 79.8 (0.08) 79.8 (0.08) 80.2   (0.08) 34,229   (44.1) 75.6 (0.08) 76.1 (0.09) 76.8   (0.09) 32,810   (45.2) 5.3 (0.05) 4.6 (0.04) 4.1   (0.04) 1,419   (13.0)
Less than high school completion 62.2 (0.27) 62.4 (0.26) 62.7   (0.26) 3,226   (21.6) 56.2 (0.27) 57.2 (0.29) 58.1   (0.29) 2,987   (22.1) 9.7 (0.21) 8.4 (0.20) 7.4   (0.19) 239   (6.1)
High school completion4 75.8 (0.15) 75.6 (0.15) 75.7   (0.16) 8,753   (34.4) 70.9 (0.16) 71.2 (0.15) 71.8   (0.15) 8,301   (32.6) 6.5 (0.10) 5.7 (0.09) 5.2   (0.09) 452   (8.3)
Some college, no degree 80.6 (0.17) 80.3 (0.18) 80.6   (0.15) 6,979   (28.6) 76.3 (0.18) 76.5 (0.20) 77.3   (0.17) 6,687   (28.8) 5.3 (0.11) 4.7 (0.10) 4.2   (0.09) 291   (6.0)
Associate's degree 84.4 (0.24) 84.4 (0.21) 84.4   (0.22) 3,294   (21.3) 80.6 (0.24) 81.1 (0.26) 81.4   (0.23) 3,177   (20.8) 4.5 (0.12) 3.9 (0.15) 3.5   (0.12) 117   (4.2)
Bachelor's or higher degree 89.0 (0.11) 88.9 (0.11) 89.1   (0.10) 11,978   (42.8) 86.1 (0.12) 86.4 (0.12) 86.8   (0.11) 11,657   (41.5) 3.2 (0.05) 2.9 (0.06) 2.7   (0.05) 321   (6.2)
                                                             
55 to 64, all education levels 64.1 (0.08) 64.2 (0.08) 64.3   (0.09) 26,619   (37.7) 60.9 (0.08) 61.5 (0.09) 61.8   (0.09) 25,596   (39.1) 4.9 (0.06) 4.2 (0.04) 3.8   (0.04) 1,023   (10.7)
Less than high school completion 46.1 (0.26) 46.4 (0.26) 46.6   (0.25) 2,282   (17.3) 42.5 (0.26) 43.3 (0.27) 43.7   (0.26) 2,139   (17.2) 7.9 (0.22) 6.9 (0.22) 6.3   (0.19) 143   (4.3)
High school completion4 59.5 (0.16) 59.6 (0.16) 60.0   (0.17) 7,251   (32.2) 56.3 (0.16) 56.9 (0.16) 57.5   (0.17) 6,949   (32.1) 5.3 (0.11) 4.6 (0.09) 4.2   (0.08) 302   (6.1)
Some college, no degree 64.4 (0.18) 64.0 (0.19) 64.2   (0.20) 5,608   (27.1) 61.0 (0.19) 61.2 (0.18) 61.6   (0.20) 5,379   (26.6) 5.2 (0.10) 4.3 (0.11) 4.1   (0.10) 229   (5.6)
Associate's degree 68.4 (0.32) 68.7 (0.29) 68.7   (0.31) 2,533   (19.2) 65.2 (0.32) 66.3 (0.29) 66.5   (0.31) 2,452   (18.3) 4.6 (0.17) 3.6 (0.16) 3.2   (0.12) 81   (3.2)
Bachelor's or higher degree 74.2 (0.13) 74.6 (0.15) 74.5   (0.14) 8,945   (27.5) 71.4 (0.15) 72.2 (0.15) 72.2   (0.14) 8,676   (28.1) 3.8 (0.08) 3.3 (0.07) 3.0   (0.07) 268   (6.0)
1 Percentage of the civilian population who are employed or seeking employment.
2 Number of persons employed as a percentage of the civilian population.
3 The percentage of persons in the civilian labor force who are not working and who made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the prior 4 weeks.
4 Includes equivalency credentials, such as the GED credential.
NOTE: Estimates are for the entire civilian population, including persons living in households and persons living in group quarters (e.g., college residence halls, residential treatment centers, or correctional facilities). Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Totals include racial/ethnic groups not separately shown. Standard errors were computed using replicate weights. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2014, 2015, and 2016, unpublished tabulations. (This table was prepared January 2018.)

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