High school grads pick work over college: Report
As the aftershock of the great recession begins to ebb, more high school graduates are skipping college enrollment and choosing to enter the workforce instead, FiveThirtyEight Economics reported Wednesday.
About 66 percent of the high school graduating class of 2013 enrolled in college last fall, the lowest number of enrollees since 2006, the U.S. Labor Department said. The figure spiked during the recession.
Overall, school enrollment among 16- to 24-year-olds plummeted to its lowest level in at least two decades.
Women are still more likely attend college than men, but the gap between male and female enrollees is narrowing.
College enrollment among female high school graduates dropped to 68.4 in fall 2013, versus 73.8 percent in 2009. Meanwhile, enrollment among male grads fell to 63.5 percent in fall 2013, versus 66 percent in fall 2009.
The trend may reflect the better opportunities available in female-dominated industries, such as health care, than in male-dominated ones, like the construction field, the report said.
