Macroeconomics

In October 2005, 68.6 percent of high school graduates from the class of

2005 were enrolled in colleges or universities, according to data released

today by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. The

college enrollment rate for recent high school graduates was a historical

high for the series dating back to 1959.

Information on school enrollment and work activity is collected monthly

in the Current Population Survey (CPS). Each October, a supplement to the

basic CPS gathers more detailed information on full-time and part-time

enrollment status, level of education, and enrollment status a year earlier.

The CPS is a monthly nationwide survey of about 60,000 households that obtains

information on employment, unemployment, earnings, demographics, and other

characteristics of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over.

Additional information about the October supplement is included in the Tech-

nical Note.

Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts

Of the 2.7 million youth who graduated from high school between October

2004 and October 2005, 1.8 million (68.6 percent) were attending college in

October 2005. The college enrollment rate of young women, 70.4 percent,

continued to exceed that of young men, 66.5 percent. Asians were more likely

than whites, blacks, and Hispanics to be enrolled in college in the fall

following their high school graduation.

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college, 91.2 percent were