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Digest of Education Statistics
2020 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: 2017, 2018, and 2019
[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)
2017 2018 2019 2019 2017 2018 2019 2019 2017 2018 2019 2019
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

All persons 25 to 64 years old, all
    education levels
77.7   (0.04) 78.1   (0.04) 78.5   (0.04) 133,589   (93.1) 74.3   (0.04) 75.0   (0.04) 75.6   (0.05) 128,623   (95.3) 4.3   (0.02) 4.0   (0.02) 3.7   (0.02) 4,966   (31.4)
Less than high school completion 59.9   (0.14) 60.8   (0.13) 61.2   (0.15) 10,917   (55.3) 55.2   (0.14) 56.3   (0.13) 57.1   (0.16) 10,185   (53.8) 8.0   (0.11) 7.5   (0.09) 6.7   (0.11) 732   (12.7)
High school completion4 72.2   (0.09) 72.5   (0.09) 72.7   (0.10) 31,792   (94.1) 68.2   (0.09) 68.6   (0.10) 69.1   (0.10) 30,252   (89.8) 5.6   (0.06) 5.3   (0.06) 4.8   (0.06) 1,540   (18.6)
Some college, no degree 77.8   (0.08) 78.0   (0.09) 78.4   (0.09) 26,709   (54.9) 74.1   (0.08) 74.6   (0.09) 75.2   (0.09) 25,610   (52.8) 4.7   (0.05) 4.4   (0.05) 4.1   (0.05) 1,099   (14.1)
Associate's degree 81.9   (0.11) 82.1   (0.12) 82.1   (0.11) 12,801   (48.4) 79.1   (0.12) 79.4   (0.13) 79.5   (0.12) 12,397   (47.8) 3.4   (0.08) 3.3   (0.07) 3.2   (0.06) 403   (8.3)
Bachelor's or higher degree 86.5   (0.05) 86.8   (0.05) 87.3   (0.05) 51,370   (139.2) 84.2   (0.05) 84.7   (0.05) 85.3   (0.06) 50,179   (136.4) 2.6   (0.03) 2.4   (0.03) 2.3   (0.03) 1,191   (14.1)

Sex
                                                                       
Male, all education levels 82.9   (0.05) 83.3   (0.05) 83.4   (0.05) 70,081   (54.6) 79.3   (0.05) 80.0   (0.05) 80.4   (0.06) 67,486   (55.1) 4.3   (0.03) 4.0   (0.03) 3.7   (0.03) 2,595   (22.6)
Less than high school completion 69.6   (0.16) 70.2   (0.17) 70.1   (0.20) 6,840   (39.9) 64.6   (0.18) 65.7   (0.18) 66.0   (0.21) 6,441   (39.5) 7.1   (0.13) 6.4   (0.12) 5.8   (0.13) 399   (8.7)
High school completion4 78.1   (0.11) 78.3   (0.11) 78.2   (0.12) 18,695   (63.0) 73.7   (0.12) 74.3   (0.12) 74.4   (0.12) 17,803   (59.7) 5.5   (0.08) 5.1   (0.08) 4.8   (0.07) 892   (14.5)
Some college, no degree 83.1   (0.11) 83.3   (0.12) 83.6   (0.10) 13,948   (40.4) 79.3   (0.12) 79.8   (0.13) 80.4   (0.12) 13,402   (39.1) 4.5   (0.08) 4.1   (0.07) 3.9   (0.07) 546   (10.6)
Associate's degree 86.8   (0.16) 86.9   (0.16) 86.9   (0.17) 5,825   (32.1) 84.0   (0.18) 84.0   (0.18) 84.1   (0.19) 5,644   (31.7) 3.2   (0.10) 3.3   (0.10) 3.1   (0.10) 182   (6.1)
Bachelor's or higher degree 91.5   (0.07) 91.8   (0.06) 92.0   (0.07) 24,772   (74.8) 89.1   (0.07) 89.6   (0.08) 89.9   (0.08) 24,197   (73.3) 2.6   (0.04) 2.4   (0.04) 2.3   (0.04) 575   (11.0)

    Female, all education levels
72.5   (0.06) 73.0   (0.06) 73.7   (0.06) 63,508   (64.0) 69.4   (0.06) 70.1   (0.06) 71.0   (0.07) 61,137   (67.2) 4.3   (0.04) 4.0   (0.03) 3.7   (0.03) 2,371   (20.5)
Less than high school completion 48.3   (0.25) 49.5   (0.23) 50.4   (0.24) 4,077   (28.2) 43.7   (0.23) 45.0   (0.22) 46.3   (0.26) 3,744   (27.1) 9.6   (0.22) 9.2   (0.16) 8.2   (0.22) 333   (9.2)
High school completion4 65.2   (0.14) 65.5   (0.14) 66.0   (0.14) 13,097   (50.2) 61.5   (0.14) 61.9   (0.15) 62.8   (0.15) 12,450   (50.8) 5.7   (0.08) 5.5   (0.08) 4.9   (0.09) 648   (11.1)
Some college, no degree 72.7   (0.11) 73.0   (0.13) 73.4   (0.15) 12,761   (42.4) 69.1   (0.12) 69.6   (0.13) 70.2   (0.16) 12,208   (42.2) 5.0   (0.08) 4.7   (0.07) 4.3   (0.08) 553   (10.4)
Associate's degree 78.3   (0.15) 78.5   (0.18) 78.6   (0.16) 6,975   (34.3) 75.5   (0.17) 75.9   (0.18) 76.1   (0.17) 6,754   (33.3) 3.6   (0.10) 3.3   (0.09) 3.2   (0.08) 222   (5.5)
Bachelor's or higher degree 82.2   (0.08) 82.6   (0.08) 83.3   (0.08) 26,598   (79.8) 80.1   (0.08) 80.6   (0.08) 81.4   (0.08) 25,982   (78.5) 2.6   (0.04) 2.3   (0.04) 2.3   (0.03) 616   (9.4)

Race/ethnicity
                                                                       
White, all education levels 78.5   (0.05) 78.9   (0.05) 79.3   (0.06) 81,329   (61.8) 75.8   (0.06) 76.3   (0.06) 76.8   (0.06) 78,795   (63.6) 3.5   (0.02) 3.3   (0.03) 3.1   (0.02) 2,534   (18.7)
Less than high school completion 52.8   (0.24) 53.7   (0.25) 53.6   (0.26) 3,135   (25.8) 48.1   (0.23) 49.2   (0.27) 49.4   (0.28) 2,890   (25.0) 8.8   (0.20) 8.5   (0.22) 7.8   (0.20) 245   (6.5)
High school completion4 71.8   (0.11) 72.0   (0.12) 72.1   (0.12) 18,436   (58.4) 68.3   (0.11) 68.8   (0.12) 69.1   (0.12) 17,660   (57.1) 4.8   (0.07) 4.5   (0.07) 4.2   (0.06) 776   (10.7)
Some college, no degree 77.5   (0.10) 77.7   (0.12) 78.0   (0.11) 16,225   (34.3) 74.4   (0.11) 74.8   (0.13) 75.3   (0.11) 15,657   (34.3) 4.0   (0.06) 3.7   (0.05) 3.5   (0.05) 568   (8.6)
Associate's degree 81.9   (0.13) 82.0   (0.14) 81.9   (0.13) 8,389   (31.3) 79.5   (0.14) 79.8   (0.15) 79.7   (0.13) 8,161   (30.8) 2.9   (0.07) 2.7   (0.07) 2.7   (0.07) 228   (5.8)
Bachelor's or higher degree 86.8   (0.06) 87.0   (0.06) 87.5   (0.07) 35,144   (87.3) 84.9   (0.06) 85.2   (0.06) 85.7   (0.07) 34,427   (85.7) 2.2   (0.03) 2.0   (0.03) 2.0   (0.03) 717   (11.5)

    Black, all education levels
73.9   (0.11) 74.4   (0.12) 74.8   (0.14) 16,087   (34.1) 68.2   (0.13) 69.1   (0.14) 70.1   (0.15) 15,065   (34.8) 7.7   (0.11) 7.1   (0.11) 6.3   (0.10) 1,021   (16.7)
Less than high school completion 47.8   (0.44) 47.9   (0.38) 48.0   (0.47) 1,101   (15.4) 39.2   (0.44) 40.3   (0.39) 41.3   (0.41) 946   (13.2) 17.9   (0.48) 15.8   (0.51) 14.0   (0.47) 154   (6.0)
High school completion4 68.4   (0.23) 68.7   (0.29) 68.7   (0.28) 4,698   (30.5) 61.8   (0.24) 62.6   (0.30) 63.2   (0.29) 4,326   (27.8) 9.7   (0.22) 8.9   (0.20) 7.9   (0.21) 372   (10.5)
Some college, no degree 77.0   (0.26) 77.6   (0.24) 77.6   (0.25) 4,086   (25.8) 71.1   (0.28) 72.3   (0.26) 72.7   (0.28) 3,825   (25.2) 7.6   (0.16) 6.9   (0.17) 6.4   (0.18) 261   (7.4)
Associate's degree 81.9   (0.39) 82.1   (0.37) 82.4   (0.48) 1,630   (23.6) 77.6   (0.45) 77.7   (0.40) 78.6   (0.50) 1,554   (22.9) 5.1   (0.25) 5.4   (0.25) 4.6   (0.23) 75   (3.9)
Bachelor's or higher degree 88.4   (0.20) 88.7   (0.19) 89.2   (0.20) 4,572   (30.1) 84.9   (0.20) 85.5   (0.21) 86.1   (0.22) 4,413   (29.5) 4.0   (0.13) 3.6   (0.14) 3.5   (0.14) 159   (6.7)

    Hispanic, all education levels
77.4   (0.11) 78.0   (0.09) 78.5   (0.09) 23,714   (32.5) 73.8   (0.11) 74.5   (0.09) 75.4   (0.10) 22,769   (34.8) 4.8   (0.07) 4.5   (0.06) 4.0   (0.06) 945   (13.9)
Less than high school completion 68.9   (0.22) 69.7   (0.20) 70.0   (0.24) 5,778   (41.3) 65.0   (0.23) 66.0   (0.20) 66.7   (0.26) 5,498   (41.2) 5.7   (0.14) 5.3   (0.12) 4.8   (0.11) 279   (6.2)
High school completion4 76.9   (0.19) 77.1   (0.20) 77.6   (0.19) 6,730   (42.7) 73.0   (0.21) 73.2   (0.20) 74.2   (0.19) 6,436   (41.3) 5.0   (0.13) 5.0   (0.12) 4.4   (0.11) 294   (7.7)
Some college, no degree 80.6   (0.25) 80.5   (0.21) 81.3   (0.22) 4,535   (30.4) 76.7   (0.26) 76.9   (0.24) 78.1   (0.21) 4,356   (28.6) 4.8   (0.14) 4.4   (0.14) 3.9   (0.12) 179   (5.6)
Associate's degree 84.1   (0.34) 84.0   (0.34) 84.0   (0.32) 1,820   (20.2) 80.8   (0.40) 80.7   (0.34) 81.2   (0.36) 1,758   (20.6) 4.0   (0.25) 3.9   (0.17) 3.4   (0.19) 62   (3.3)
Bachelor's or higher degree 87.0   (0.20) 87.5   (0.22) 87.5   (0.19) 4,851   (38.6) 84.0   (0.24) 85.1   (0.23) 85.2   (0.19) 4,721   (38.2) 3.4   (0.11) 2.8   (0.10) 2.7   (0.09) 130   (4.6)

    Asian, all education levels
78.7   (0.16) 79.9   (0.16) 80.6   (0.13) 8,673   (25.4) 75.9   (0.18) 77.3   (0.17) 78.2   (0.14) 8,414   (24.8) 3.6   (0.08) 3.2   (0.07) 3.0   (0.07) 259   (6.4)
Less than high school completion 63.0   (0.60) 65.1   (0.54) 66.9   (0.64) 657   (10.9) 60.1   (0.62) 62.0   (0.56) 64.2   (0.67) 631   (10.6) 4.6   (0.41) 4.7   (0.27) 4.0   (0.35) 27   (2.4)
High school completion4 73.4   (0.54) 74.3   (0.50) 75.0   (0.44) 1,067   (12.5) 70.4   (0.59) 71.6   (0.49) 72.5   (0.43) 1,031   (12.2) 4.1   (0.24) 3.6   (0.23) 3.3   (0.23) 35   (2.5)
Some college, no degree 77.9   (0.51) 78.9   (0.43) 79.0   (0.48) 949   (12.7) 74.6   (0.57) 75.9   (0.50) 76.1   (0.51) 914   (12.3) 4.3   (0.30) 3.8   (0.25) 3.7   (0.28) 35   (2.7)
Associate's degree 79.9   (0.50) 79.8   (0.54) 80.7   (0.76) 560   (9.9) 77.3   (0.53) 77.4   (0.63) 78.0   (0.80) 541   (9.9) 3.3   (0.24) 3.0   (0.31) 3.4   (0.30) 19   (1.7)
Bachelor's or higher degree 82.7   (0.21) 83.7   (0.17) 84.2   (0.17) 5,440   (27.8) 80.0   (0.22) 81.3   (0.18) 82.0   (0.17) 5,297   (26.8) 3.2   (0.10) 2.8   (0.08) 2.6   (0.08) 143   (4.5)

    American Indian/Alaska Native, all
     education levels
65.0   (0.52) 65.3   (0.59) 66.3   (0.56) 766   (9.9) 58.9   (0.51) 60.0   (0.57) 61.2   (0.57) 707   (9.3) 9.4   (0.40) 8.2   (0.25) 7.7   (0.41) 59   (3.3)
Less than high school completion 44.5   (1.35) 44.4   (1.43) 45.1   (1.67) 75   (3.5) 36.3   (1.35) 37.5   (1.60) 37.9   (1.40) 63   (2.9) 18.4   (1.67) 15.5   (1.62) 16.0   (1.90) 12   (1.7)
High school completion4 61.7   (0.90) 60.7   (1.06) 61.8   (0.96) 243   (6.2) 54.7   (0.91) 54.1   (0.98) 56.5   (0.99) 222   (5.9) 11.3   (0.85) 10.8   (0.64) 8.6   (0.72) 21   (1.8)
Some college, no degree 68.1   (1.06) 69.6   (0.89) 69.5   (1.13) 210   (5.7) 62.3   (1.03) 64.5   (1.01) 63.7   (1.06) 193   (5.2) 8.5   (0.62) 7.3   (0.66) 8.4   (0.85) 18   (1.9)
Associate's degree 72.2   (1.65) 75.7   (1.60) 77.2   (1.28) 88   (4.0) 68.6   (1.73) 71.4   (1.65) 73.7   (1.47) 84   (3.9) 5.0   (0.73) 5.6   (0.86) 4.5   (0.81) 4   (0.7)
Bachelor's or higher degree 83.0   (0.95) 82.2   (0.98) 83.4   (1.10) 150   (4.9) 78.8   (1.08) 79.9   (0.97) 80.8   (1.14) 146   (4.8) 5.1   (0.62) 2.9   (0.43) 3.1   (0.49) 5   (0.8)

Age group
                                                                       
25 to 34, all education levels 82.6   (0.08) 83.2   (0.06) 83.6   (0.07) 37,718   (45.9) 78.1   (0.08) 79.0   (0.07) 79.7   (0.08) 35,937   (48.0) 5.5   (0.05) 5.1   (0.05) 4.7   (0.05) 1,780   (18.5)
Less than high school completion 63.4   (0.29) 63.4   (0.32) 63.0   (0.31) 2,366   (21.1) 55.9   (0.32) 56.4   (0.33) 56.5   (0.34) 2,124   (21.2) 11.7   (0.28) 11.0   (0.27) 10.2   (0.31) 242   (7.3)
High school completion4 77.2   (0.19) 77.4   (0.16) 77.9   (0.17) 8,594   (52.4) 70.9   (0.20) 71.4   (0.19) 72.4   (0.20) 7,988   (49.6) 8.2   (0.14) 7.7   (0.12) 7.1   (0.14) 606   (12.9)
Some college, no degree 82.7   (0.15) 83.5   (0.15) 83.9   (0.16) 8,111   (29.5) 77.7   (0.18) 78.8   (0.17) 79.5   (0.17) 7,682   (28.7) 6.0   (0.12) 5.7   (0.11) 5.3   (0.11) 428   (9.4)
Associate's degree 87.0   (0.19) 87.5   (0.20) 87.3   (0.26) 3,443   (27.0) 83.3   (0.21) 83.9   (0.25) 84.0   (0.29) 3,313   (26.8) 4.2   (0.16) 4.1   (0.14) 3.8   (0.13) 130   (4.5)
Bachelor's or higher degree 90.0   (0.11) 90.6   (0.09) 91.0   (0.09) 15,204   (65.1) 87.4   (0.11) 88.2   (0.10) 88.7   (0.10) 14,830   (64.7) 2.8   (0.06) 2.6   (0.06) 2.5   (0.06) 374   (8.5)

    35 to 44, all education levels
82.3   (0.08) 83.0   (0.08) 83.2   (0.07) 34,790   (39.6) 78.9   (0.09) 79.7   (0.07) 80.2   (0.08) 33,533   (39.9) 4.2   (0.04) 3.9   (0.04) 3.6   (0.05) 1,257   (16.1)
Less than high school completion 66.7   (0.29) 67.5   (0.23) 67.5   (0.30) 3,123   (25.2) 61.4   (0.32) 62.4   (0.25) 62.9   (0.31) 2,912   (24.5) 7.9   (0.21) 7.6   (0.15) 6.8   (0.22) 211   (7.0)
High school completion4 77.5   (0.19) 78.0   (0.18) 77.9   (0.19) 7,575   (43.3) 72.9   (0.20) 73.7   (0.19) 74.0   (0.19) 7,195   (41.2) 6.0   (0.12) 5.5   (0.12) 5.0   (0.12) 380   (9.5)
Some college, no degree 82.4   (0.17) 82.8   (0.18) 83.0   (0.18) 6,573   (28.2) 78.5   (0.18) 79.2   (0.18) 79.6   (0.19) 6,301   (28.2) 4.8   (0.10) 4.5   (0.10) 4.1   (0.11) 272   (7.1)
Associate's degree 86.7   (0.22) 86.6   (0.22) 86.6   (0.26) 3,389   (23.5) 83.9   (0.26) 83.9   (0.23) 83.9   (0.28) 3,281   (22.8) 3.3   (0.14) 3.1   (0.11) 3.2   (0.14) 108   (5.0)
Bachelor's or higher degree 89.4   (0.08) 89.9   (0.09) 90.3   (0.11) 14,130   (51.9) 87.4   (0.10) 88.1   (0.10) 88.4   (0.12) 13,844   (50.6) 2.3   (0.06) 2.1   (0.05) 2.0   (0.05) 286   (7.0)

    45 to 54, all education levels
80.5   (0.08) 81.0   (0.07) 81.5   (0.08) 33,162   (45.1) 77.5   (0.09) 78.1   (0.08) 78.8   (0.09) 32,069   (46.7) 3.7   (0.04) 3.5   (0.04) 3.3   (0.04) 1,093   (14.4)
Less than high school completion 62.8   (0.28) 64.4   (0.27) 65.2   (0.30) 3,036   (22.6) 58.7   (0.28) 60.2   (0.28) 61.5   (0.28) 2,862   (20.7) 6.7   (0.18) 6.5   (0.17) 5.7   (0.19) 174   (6.3)
High school completion4 75.9   (0.16) 76.4   (0.16) 76.4   (0.17) 8,028   (35.5) 72.4   (0.16) 73.0   (0.17) 73.4   (0.18) 7,712   (35.2) 4.6   (0.09) 4.4   (0.10) 3.9   (0.09) 316   (7.4)
Some college, no degree 81.2   (0.17) 80.9   (0.17) 81.2   (0.18) 6,319   (27.6) 78.0   (0.18) 78.0   (0.19) 78.3   (0.17) 6,093   (25.9) 4.0   (0.11) 3.7   (0.09) 3.6   (0.11) 226   (7.0)
Associate's degree 84.5   (0.19) 84.9   (0.23) 85.2   (0.24) 3,229   (21.8) 82.0   (0.21) 82.5   (0.24) 82.7   (0.24) 3,135   (21.6) 3.0   (0.11) 2.9   (0.13) 2.9   (0.12) 94   (4.0)
Bachelor's or higher degree 89.3   (0.10) 89.3   (0.09) 89.8   (0.09) 12,550   (51.1) 87.0   (0.10) 87.3   (0.10) 87.8   (0.10) 12,267   (51.0) 2.5   (0.05) 2.3   (0.05) 2.3   (0.05) 283   (6.3)

    55 to 64, all education levels
64.9   (0.09) 65.0   (0.09) 65.8   (0.09) 27,919   (40.5) 62.6   (0.09) 63.0   (0.09) 63.8   (0.09) 27,083   (41.1) 3.5   (0.04) 3.2   (0.04) 3.0   (0.04) 835   (10.6)
Less than high school completion 47.4   (0.30) 48.9   (0.29) 49.8   (0.27) 2,391   (19.5) 44.7   (0.30) 46.5   (0.29) 47.6   (0.28) 2,286   (19.1) 5.7   (0.22) 4.8   (0.18) 4.4   (0.15) 105   (3.7)
High school completion4 60.3   (0.17) 60.2   (0.17) 60.8   (0.16) 7,596   (31.4) 58.2   (0.16) 58.3   (0.16) 58.9   (0.18) 7,358   (33.0) 3.5   (0.09) 3.3   (0.09) 3.1   (0.08) 238   (5.5)
Some college, no degree 64.8   (0.17) 64.8   (0.18) 65.6   (0.18) 5,706   (23.6) 62.4   (0.17) 62.6   (0.19) 63.7   (0.18) 5,534   (23.9) 3.7   (0.08) 3.3   (0.09) 3.0   (0.08) 172   (4.7)
Associate's degree 69.2   (0.28) 69.3   (0.29) 69.6   (0.29) 2,740   (17.6) 67.1   (0.28) 67.3   (0.29) 67.7   (0.30) 2,667   (17.6) 3.1   (0.14) 3.0   (0.12) 2.6   (0.10) 72   (2.8)
Bachelor's or higher degree 75.2   (0.15) 75.1   (0.13) 75.7   (0.13) 9,486   (36.4) 73.1   (0.15) 73.1   (0.13) 73.8   (0.14) 9,238   (35.6) 2.8   (0.07) 2.6   (0.06) 2.6   (0.06) 248   (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: Data are for the entire civilian population in the given age range residing within the United States, 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. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2017, 2018, and 2019. (This table was prepared January 2021.)

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