Unemployment Rate For High School Dropouts Soars in Latest Government Jobs Report

The unemployment rate for high school dropouts aged twenty-five or older soared by 10 percent in September, according to today’s jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for college graduates actually dropped.

In September 2010, 15.4 percent of high school dropouts were unemployed, up from 14 percent from August 2010. At the start of the so-called “Great Recession” in December 2007, the unemployment rate for high school dropouts aged twenty-five or older was 7.8 percent. (For a larger image of the graph to the right click here).

Among college graduates, 4.4 percent were unemployed in September, down from 4.6 percent in August.

The Alliance’s October 4 issue of Straight A’s examines the connection between education and employment in more detail by focusing on a new report from College Board details the personal, financial, and lifetime benefits for students who obtain a higher education degree.

It also includes an article on how college graduates have expanded their lead in job security, as well as an article on how individuals who take and pass the GED test are twice as likely to enroll in postsecondary education as individuals who fail, but how only 12 percent of those who pass the test ultimately graduate from a postsecondary program.