As Economy Recovers, High-School Dropouts Fall Further Behind

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High-school dropouts are falling further behind, even as the national jobless rate has improved.  That’s according to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal.  “Some 1.8 million more college graduates have found work since January 2010, when the recovery began producing jobs,” the piece says, “but about 128,000 high-school dropouts lost work in the same period, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

Moreover, the article says, wages are substantially lower for workers without high school degrees, a gap that’s expected to widen.

Less than 40% of the 25 million Americans over age 25 who lack a high-school diploma are employed. And those who are working don’t earn much. High-school dropouts earn about $23,400 on average, compared with $33,500 for those with a high-school diploma and $54,700 for four-year college grads, the labor bureau says. — The Wall Street Journal

According to U.S. Census data, just over 88 percent of Idahoans age 25 and older have high school degrees, compared to 85 percent nationally.  However, Idaho’s above-average rate does not hold for post-secondary education.  Just over 24 percent of Idahoans age 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, compared to nearly 29 percent nationally.