A new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that 62.0% of high school graduates aged 16 to 24 were enrolled in colleges or universities in October 2022, similar to the rate in the previous year. The report also highlights the employment status of recent college graduates aged 20 to 29, revealing that 76.4% of those with a bachelor's degree in 2022 were employed.
Among the 3.0 million high school graduates aged 16 to 24 who graduated between January and October 2022, 1.9 million were enrolled in college in October. The college enrollment rate for young women was higher than for young men at 66.1% and 57.2%, respectively. The college enrollment rates by race and ethnicity were 72.2% for Asians, 64.1% for Blacks, 61.8% for Whites, and 58.1% for Hispanics.
The BLS report also found that recent high school dropouts aged 16 to 24 were less likely to be working or looking for work, with a participation rate of 41.9%, compared to 69.2% for recent high school graduates not enrolled in college.
Regarding college graduates aged 20 to 29, recent associate degree recipients had an employment rate of 72.6%, while recent bachelor's and advanced degree recipients had employment rates of 76.4% and 82.8%, respectively.
The report shows that the unemployment rate for recent bachelor's degree recipients declined from the previous year by 4.5 percentage points, dropping to 8.6% in October 2022.