Technical information: (202) 691-7410 USDL 05-732 http://www.bls.gov/nls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Wednesday, April 27, 2005 WORK ACTIVITY OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: DATA FROM THE NATIONAL LONGITUDINAL SURVEY OF YOUTH 1997 Based upon the recurring interviews of a panel of young people conducted over the 1997-2003 period, work activity for high school students varied substantially depending upon the specific grade they were attending. For example, 23 percent of high school freshmen worked during the school year, while nearly 75 percent of high school seniors worked at some time during the school year. Many students who eventually graduated from high school worked long hours during the school year; about a quarter of working fresh- men averaged 21 or more hours of work per week, as did 56 percent of working seniors. These findings are from the first six annual rounds of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, which is sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The survey provides information on the employment experiences, schooling, family background, social behavior, and other characteristics of youths. The survey includes a nationally representative sample of about 9,000 young men and women who were born during the years 1980 to 1984. These respondents were ages 12 to 17 when first interviewed in 1997, and ages 18 to 23 when interviewed for a sixth time in 2002-03. For this release, respondents born in 1984 were excluded from the analysis because many had not yet completed high school. The remaining respondents, born in the years 1980-83, attended high school during the years 1994 to 2002. This release focuses on the employment experiences of these youths while in high school. The release examines only "employee jobs," also known as wage and salary jobs, in which youths have an ongoing formal relationship with a particular employer. "Freelance jobs," such as babysitting or lawn care, in which youths are more casually involved in the labor market are not examined. Highlights from the longitudinal survey include: --Forty-one percent of high school freshmen worked during the school year or following summer, compared with 87 percent of seniors. --Year-round attachment to the formal labor market forms early while in high school. Nearly 18 percent of freshmen worked during both the school year and the following summer. By sophomore year, the percent of students who worked during both school and summer doubled to 39 percent. By senior year, two-thirds of students worked during both the school year and summer. --Working students who eventually graduated often worked 21 or more hours per week. Nearly 24 percent of working freshmen worked 21 or more hours per week during the school year, as did 56 percent of working seniors. --Of the 75 percent of seniors who worked during the school year, over three-fourths worked more than 50 percent of school weeks. About 1 in 5 employed seniors worked more than 50 percent of school weeks and averaged 31 or more hours of work per week. - 2 - Youths in Jobs during High School For many youths, the introduction to the formal labor market begins at a young age. (See table 1.) Nearly 41 percent of freshmen worked at some time during the school year or following summer. Almost 23 percent of freshmen worked at some point during the school year. Eighteen percent worked during both the school year and the following summer, but not necessarily the entire school year and summer. The percent of enrolled youths who worked at some point during the school year was substantially higher at each successive grade. Among high school sophomores, 45 percent worked during the school year. Nearly two-thirds of juniors worked during the school year, as did nearly three-fourths of seniors. Among high school freshmen and sophomores, young men are more likely to work than are young women. By the senior year, however, young men and women are equally likely to have jobs. Differences in employment activities are also apparent by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Among freshmen, 44 percent of non-Hispanic whites held a job during the school year or following summer, compared with 34 percent of non-Hispanic blacks and 32 percent of Hispanics or Latinos. Students in all three race or ethnic groups were substantially more likely to work at each successive grade level, but non-Hispanic whites remained more likely to work than non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics or Latinos. Of high school students who worked, the majority worked at some time during both the academic year and the following summer. Even as freshmen, 45 percent of those who worked did so during both the school year and the following summer, as did 60 percent of working sophomores, 73 percent of working juniors, and 77 percent of working seniors. At advanced grade levels, comparatively few employed students worked only during the summer without also having worked during the previous school year. Among working freshmen, 45 percent worked during the summer only; however, just 18 percent of juniors and 14 percent of seniors worked during the summer without having worked during the previous school year. (See table 2.) Employed non-Hispanic black students were less likely to work during both the school year and summer and more likely to work only in the summer than were employed non-Hispanic white students. Among freshmen, 33 percent of non-Hispanic black students worked at some point during both the school year and following summer, compared with 47 percent of non-Hispanic white students. Among seniors, 69 percent of non-Hispanic black students worked during both the school year and following summer, compared with 80 percent of non-Hispanic white students. Graduates: Intensity of Work while in High School Working students who eventually graduated from high school spent a large amount of time at work while also juggling their academic requirements. More than half of freshmen who worked during the school year worked more than 50 percent of the school weeks, although most worked 10 hours or less per week. (See table 3.) By their sophomore year in high school, 54 percent of students who worked during the school year worked more than half of their school weeks, with 18 percent of them averaging 21 or more hours per week. By their senior year, three-quarters of employed students worked more than half of school weeks. Moreover, 25 percent of seniors worked over half of the school year and averaged between 21 and 30 hours a week, while an additional 20 percent worked more than half of the school year and averaged 31 or more hours a week. Non-Hispanic blacks who worked during the school year and eventually gra- duated from high school were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have worked more than half the weeks of the school year. Regardless of the number of school weeks they worked, however, blacks in every grade level were more likely than whites to average more than 21 hours of work per week. - 3 - Dropouts: Intensity of Work while in High School The working behavior during the school year of students who later drop out differs from the working behavior of students who eventually graduate. Youths who eventually dropped out of high school were less likely than their peers to have worked more than half of the school year prior to the one in which they dropped out. (See tables 4, 5, and 6.) For example, 52 percent of working youths who dropped out of high school during their senior year worked more than half of the school weeks during their junior year. By comparison, among youths who eventually graduated from high school, 70 percent of those who worked during their junior year worked more than half the weeks of that school year. Eventual dropouts who worked more than half of the school weeks tended to work more hours per week than did their counterparts who eventually graduated. For example, students who dropped out as sophomores and worked more than half the school weeks during their freshmen year were nearly twice as likely as their freshmen counterparts who eventually graduated to average 21 or more hours of work per week. This pattern continued for youths who dropped out in later years. Among students who dropped out as seniors and worked more than half the school weeks during their junior year, 33 percent averaged 21 or more hours of work per week. By comparison, 29 percent of juniors who worked more than half the school year and eventually graduated averaged 21 or more work hours per week. The longer that students remain in high school, the less likely they are to drop out. Among students enrolled as freshmen, 23 percent did not receive a high school diploma by age 20. (See table 7.) Sixteen percent of students who started their sophomore year eventually dropped out, as did 10 percent of students who started their junior year. Of students who remained in high school until the start of their senior year, just 4 percent dropped out before graduating. Students who worked during their freshman or sophomore years of high school were somewhat more likely to drop out than were students who did not work during those same grades. Among freshmen, 29 percent of those who worked during the school year eventually dropped out of school, compared with 22 percent of those who did not work. Eighteen percent of sophomores who worked eventually dropped out of high school, compared with 15 percent of sophomores who did not work. Among students who remained in high school until their junior or senior years, those who worked were about equally likely as those who did not work to drop out of high school. - 4 - Technical Note The estimates in this release were obtained using data from the first six rounds of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97). The NLSY97 is the newest survey in the National Longitudinal Surveys program. The NLSY97 collects extensive information on youths' labor market behavior and educational experiences. Information about respondents' families and communities also is obtained in the survey. This survey is conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and the Center for Human Resource Research at The Ohio State University, under the direction and sponsorship of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Partial funding support for the survey has been provided by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education of the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Sample The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 is a nationally repre- sentative sample of 8,984 young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. This sample is composed of two subsamples: --A cross-sectional sample designed to represent the noninstitutionalized, civilian segment of young people living in the U.S. in 1997 and born be- tween January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1984. --A supplemental sample of youths designed to oversample Hispanic or Latino and black youths living in the U.S. in 1997 and born between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1984. The sixth round of annual interviews took place between November 2002 and May 2003. For this news release, youths born in 1984 were dropped from the sample because their high school education history was not yet complete. All results are weighted using the sixth-round survey weights that correct for oversampling and nonresponse. When weighted, the data represent all Americans living in the U.S. in 1997 and born in the years 1980 to 1983. U.S. immigrants who were born from 1980 to 1983 and moved to the U.S. after 1997 are not represented by the survey. Sample size varies both between and within tables. For example, the sample in table 4 has youths who worked during their freshman year and then dropped out as sophomores compared with freshmen who later graduated, while the sample for table 5 is youths who dropped out as juniors and who worked during their sophomore school years compared with sophomores who later graduated. Interaction between time and age in a longitudinal survey Because the NLSY97 is a longitudinal survey, meaning the same people are surveyed over time, the ages of the respondents change with each survey round. It is important to keep in mind this inherent link between the calendar years and the ages of the respondents. For example, table 1 reports employment by grade in school. The majority of the youngest respondents in the sample (birth year 1983) were enrolled in high school during 1998-2002, whereas the oldest respondents (birth year 1980) were enrolled in high school from 1994-1998. Some respondents may not be used in all tables if information about their work history is incomplete. - 5 - Definitions Employment. Respondents are classified as employed if they did any work as paid employees at "employee jobs." This excludes youths who worked in "freelance jobs," either in their own businesses (self-employed), or as unpaid workers in a business owned by a member of their family. An employee job is one in which the youth has an ongoing relationship with a particular employer, such as working in a supermarket or restaurant. A freelance job involves doing one or a few tasks without a specific "boss," like babysitting or mowing lawns or working for oneself. School year and following summer. The school term is defined as the period from September through May. The summer is composed of June, July, and August. Determining dropout date. To determine if an individual has dropped out of school, enrollment status is determined at two points in time: in either September or October and then again in either April or May. Dropouts are shown in the tables based on the last school year that they completed. Race and ethnic groups. In this release, the findings are reported for non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Hispanics or Latinos. These groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. In other BLS publications, estimates are published for whites, blacks, and Hispanics or Latinos, but these groups usually are not mutually exclusive. The term "Hispanic or Latino" is considered to be an ethnic group and can be of any race. Most other BLS publications include estimates for Hispanics or Latinos in the white and black race groups in addition to the Hispanic or Latino ethnic group. Information in this release will be made available to sensory-impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339. Table 1. Percent of enrolled youths with an employee job during the school year and the following summer by grade in school, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, dropout status and timing of employment Percent of Percent who worked during the school year students who Percent who Grade level, characteristic, ever worked Worked during Worked during worked during and age at the start of the during the Total school year school year summer only school year school year or and summer only following summer Total, freshmen......... 40.6 22.6 18.2 4.2 18.0 Male......................... 45.5 26.1 21.0 4.9 19.3 Female....................... 35.4 18.7 15.1 3.5 16.7 White non-Hispanic........... 44.1 25.3 20.7 4.5 18.7 Black non-Hispanic........... 34.2 14.6 11.0 3.4 19.5 Hispanic or Latino........... 32.2 18.9 14.5 4.4 13.4 Eventually graduated......... 36.6 18.7 15.7 2.8 17.8 Eventually dropped out....... 41.5 25.3 17.1 7.8 16.3 Total, sophomores....... 65.4 44.9 39.1 5.5 20.4 Male......................... 68.4 48.4 41.9 6.1 19.9 Female....................... 62.0 41.1 36.0 4.9 20.9 White non-Hispanic........... 70.8 49.6 44.1 5.2 21.1 Black non-Hispanic........... 54.0 33.3 27.8 5.1 20.5 Hispanic or Latino........... 55.6 38.4 30.8 7.3 17.0 Eventually graduated......... 62.4 40.4 35.6 4.4 22.0 Eventually dropped out....... 62.1 45.0 34.6 9.9 17.0 Total, juniors.......... 78.6 64.6 56.8 7.7 13.8 Male......................... 79.9 65.3 57.3 8.0 14.5 Female....................... 77.2 63.9 56.3 7.4 13.2 White non-Hispanic........... 82.5 69.3 62.9 6.3 13.2 Black non-Hispanic........... 70.0 55.5 43.9 11.3 14.3 Hispanic or Latino........... 70.7 55.0 44.8 10.2 15.6 Eventually graduated ........ 76.8 61.8 54.6 7.1 14.9 Eventually dropped out ...... 70.5 59.0 44.9 13.9 11.3 Total, seniors,......... 86.7 74.5 66.3 7.9 11.8 Male......................... 86.4 73.6 65.3 8.0 12.6 Female....................... 86.9 75.5 67.4 7.7 11.1 White non-Hispanic........... 89.7 78.3 71.2 6.7 11.1 Black non-Hispanic........... 79.5 66.6 54.9 11.4 12.7 Hispanic or Latino........... 80.6 67.0 55.8 11.1 13.3 NOTE: Totals may be greater than the sum of their parts because in some cases it is possible to determine if a youth worked during the school year without being able to determine if they also worked during the summer. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. The school year is defined as September through May, excluding the last full week of December and the first week of January. Summer is defined as June, July, and August. Table 2. Distribution of employed high school students by grade, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, dropout status, and timing of employment Percent employed during either the school year or summer Grade level, characteristic Worked during Worked during Worked during and dropout status school year school year summer only and summer only Total, freshmen......... 45.0 10.5 44.5 Male......................... 46.5 10.9 42.7 Female....................... 42.9 9.9 47.2 White non-Hispanic........... 47.1 10.2 42.7 Black non-Hispanic........... 32.5 10.0 57.5 Hispanic or Latino........... 44.9 13.6 41.5 Eventually graduated......... 43.2 7.8 49.0 Eventually dropped out....... 41.5 19.0 39.4 Total, sophomores....... 60.1 8.5 31.4 Male......................... 61.7 9.0 29.4 Female....................... 58.2 7.9 33.8 White non-Hispanic........... 62.6 7.4 29.9 Black non-Hispanic........... 52.1 9.5 38.3 Hispanic or Latino........... 55.9 13.3 30.8 Eventually graduated......... 59.6 6.8 33.6 Eventually dropped out....... 62.6 12.8 24.6 Total, juniors.......... 72.5 9.9 17.7 Male......................... 71.8 10.0 18.2 Female....................... 73.2 9.7 17.1 White non-Hispanic........... 76.4 7.7 16.0 Black non-Hispanic........... 63.1 16.2 20.7 Hispanic or Latino........... 63.4 14.4 22.1 Eventually graduated ........ 57.5 7.1 35.4 Eventually dropped out ...... 56.3 16.1 27.6 Total, seniors,......... 77.1 9.2 13.8 Male......................... 76.0 9.4 14.6 Female....................... 78.2 9.0 12.9 White non-Hispanic........... 80.0 7.6 12.5 Black non-Hispanic........... 69.4 14.4 16.1 Hispanic or Latino........... 69.5 13.9 16.6 NOTE: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. The school year is defined as September through May, excluding the last full week of December and the first week of January. Summer is defined as June, July, and August. Table 3. Distribution of employed high school students who eventually graduated by year in school, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, percent of school weeks worked, and average hours worked per week Percent of those employed during the school year Worked 50 percent or fewer of school weeks Worked 51 percent or more of school weeks Characteristic Average hours worked per week Average hours worked per week Total 10 hours 11 to 21 to 31 hours Total 10 hours 11 to 21 to 31 hours or less 20 hours 30 hours or more or less 20 hours 30 hours or more Freshmen .................. 46.2 19.2 14.8 6.1 6.1 51.8 26.4 13.7 6.2 5.5 Male...................... 45.5 17.7 15.6 6.1 6.0 52.2 25.5 12.9 6.8 7.0 Female.................... 47.1 21.2 13.5 6.1 6.2 51.2 27.7 14.8 5.3 3.4 White non-Hispanic ....... 44.7 19.6 13.7 5.4 6.0 54.0 27.9 14.7 6.5 4.9 Black non-Hispanic ....... 59.5 17.5 19.6 11.7 10.8 37.9 13.3 11.0 9.2 4.5 Hispanic or Latino ....... 46.8 17.1 18.5 8.1 3.1 47.0 26.5 6.6 2.1 11.8 Sophomores ................ 44.8 11.5 18.2 9.0 6.2 54.0 14.1 22.0 11.7 6.2 Male ..................... 44.8 12.3 16.3 9.2 7.1 54.1 13.1 21.1 12.0 7.8 Female ................... 44.7 10.5 20.4 8.7 5.1 53.9 15.3 23.0 11.4 4.3 White non-Hispanic ....... 42.3 12.4 17.1 8.1 4.7 56.7 15.2 24.2 11.9 5.5 Black non-Hispanic ....... 53.4 8.3 19.8 13.5 11.8 45.9 6.8 14.0 15.0 10.1 Hispanic or Latino ....... 52.1 11.1 19.4 10.1 11.5 44.7 14.0 17.0 7.4 6.3 Juniors ................... 28.9 5.0 12.5 6.4 5.0 69.6 11.3 29.2 19.4 9.6 Male ..................... 29.9 4.9 13.0 6.6 5.4 68.1 9.3 26.7 20.0 12.1 Female ................... 27.9 5.2 12.0 6.2 4.5 71.0 13.4 31.8 18.8 7.1 White non-Hispanic ....... 26.9 5.4 11.9 5.3 4.3 71.7 12.1 30.6 19.6 9.4 Black non-Hispanic ....... 36.0 2.7 14.4 9.9 9.1 62.4 4.9 26.3 18.9 12.3 Hispanic or Latino ....... 35.5 4.2 16.4 9.9 5.0 61.6 9.3 22.8 19.9 9.6 Seniors ................... 23.4 3.2 8.5 5.8 5.9 75.2 6.3 24.5 24.5 19.9 Male ..................... 24.2 2.9 8.3 5.9 7.1 74.3 5.8 21.0 24.8 22.7 Female ................... 22.7 3.4 8.7 5.8 4.8 76.1 6.8 27.8 24.3 17.1 White non-Hispanic ....... 20.9 2.9 7.9 5.1 4.9 77.9 7.2 26.2 25.1 19.5 Black non-Hispanic ....... 34.7 3.1 11.7 10.1 9.8 63.9 3.0 19.9 23.6 17.4 Hispanic or Latino ....... 25.6 2.5 8.0 6.2 8.8 71.5 4.2 19.4 25.4 22.4 NOTE: Totals do not add to 100 percent because the exact number of weeks or hours of employment could not be calculated for a small number of employed youth. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. The school year is defined as September through May, excluding the last full week of December and the first week of January. Summer is defined as June, July, and August. Table 4. Distribution of employed high school freshmen who dropped out as sophomores and those who eventually graduated by sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, percent of school weeks worked, and average hours worked per week Percent of those employed during the school year Worked 50 percent or fewer of school weeks Worked 51 percent or more of school weeks Characteristic Average hours worked per week Average hours worked per week Total 10 hours 11 to 21 to 31 hours Total 10 hours 11 to 21 to 31 hours or less 20 hours 30 hours or more or less 20 hours 30 hours or more Freshman who dropped out as sophomores............. 46.7 12.5 19.1 11.3 3.8 49.1 4.6 25.0 8.5 11.0 Male...................... 40.2 9.2 17.8 11.7 1.5 55.2 6.3 29.4 8.0 11.6 Female.................... 63.6 21.2 22.5 10.2 9.7 33.0 - 13.8 9.8 9.4 White non-Hispanic ....... 44.6 16.9 11.6 12.2 3.9 51.8 5.3 27.3 8.0 11.2 Black non-Hispanic ....... 35.5 6.9 21.3 7.3 - 57.5 6.8 20.9 22.0 7.9 Hispanic or Latino ....... 56.4 - 36.7 12.7 7.0 37.8 - 23.2 - 14.7 Freshman who eventually graduated................. 46.2 19.2 14.8 6.1 6.1 51.8 26.4 13.7 6.2 5.5 Male ..................... 45.5 17.7 15.6 6.1 6.0 52.2 25.5 12.9 6.8 7.0 Female ................... 47.1 21.2 13.5 6.1 6.2 51.2 27.7 14.8 5.3 3.4 White non-Hispanic ....... 44.7 19.6 13.7 5.4 6.0 54.0 27.9 14.7 6.5 4.9 Black non-Hispanic ....... 59.5 17.5 19.6 11.7 10.8 37.9 13.3 11.0 9.2 4.5 Hispanic or Latino ....... 46.8 17.1 18.5 8.1 3.1 46.5 26.5 6.1 2.1 11.8 NOTE: Totals do not add to 100 percent because the exact number of weeks or hours of employment could not be calculated for a small number of employed youth. A dash indicates that no cases were found in the survey sample. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. The school year is defined as September through May, excluding the last full week of December and the first week of January. Summer is defined as June, July, and August. Table 5. Distribution of employed high school sophomores who dropped out as juniors and those who eventually graduated by sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, percent of school weeks worked, and average hours worked per week Percent of those employed during the school year Worked 50 percent or fewer of school weeks Worked 51 percent or more of school weeks Characteristic Average hours worked per week Average hours worked per week Total 10 hours 11 to 21 to 31 hours Total 10 hours 11 to 21 to 31 hours or less 20 hours 30 hours or more or less 20 hours 30 hours or more Sophomores who dropped out as juniors................ 46.9 4.4 14.3 13.2 15.0 50.8 7.8 17.5 12.4 13.1 Male...................... 47.1 1.8 19.1 15.7 10.5 50.0 3.5 14.9 13.5 18.1 Female.................... 46.5 9.4 4.9 8.4 23.8 52.3 16.3 22.4 10.1 3.5 White non-Hispanic ....... 40.3 3.6 10.8 11.3 14.7 57.8 10.6 21.7 10.8 14.7 Black non-Hispanic ....... 59.7 9.8 15.2 20.8 13.9 34.3 3.0 5.5 14.5 11.3 Hispanic or Latino ....... (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) Sophomores who eventually graduated................. 44.8 11.5 18.2 9.0 6.2 54.0 14.1 22.0 11.7 6.2 Male ..................... 44.8 12.3 16.3 9.2 7.1 54.1 13.1 21.1 12.0 7.8 Female ................... 44.7 10.5 20.4 8.7 5.1 53.9 15.3 23.0 11.4 4.3 White non-Hispanic ....... 42.3 12.4 17.1 8.1 4.7 56.7 15.2 24.2 11.9 5.5 Black non-Hispanic ....... 53.4 8.3 19.8 13.5 11.8 45.9 6.8 14.0 15.0 10.1 Hispanic or Latino ....... 52.1 11.1 19.4 10.1 11.5 44.7 14.0 17.0 7.4 6.3 1 Data not shown where cell size is less than 50. NOTE: Totals do not add to 100 percent because the exact number of weeks or hours of employment could not be calculated for a small number of employed youth. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. The school year is defined as September through May, excluding the last full week of December and the first week of January. Summer is defined as June, July, and August. Table 6. Distribution of employed high school juniors who dropped out as seniors and those who eventually graduated by sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, percent of school weeks worked, and average hours worked per week Percent of those employed during the school year Worked 50 percent or fewer of school weeks Worked 51 percent or more of school weeks Characteristic Average hours worked per week Average hours worked per week Total 10 hours 11 to 21 to 31 hours Total 10 hours 11 to 21 to 31 hours or less 20 hours 30 hours or more or less 20 hours 30 hours or more Juniors who dropped out as seniors................ 47.6 2.1 20.6 14.7 10.1 52.4 6.7 12.5 16.6 16.6 Male...................... 49.8 1.8 20.8 16.3 10.9 50.2 11.2 13.2 11.1 14.6 Female.................... 44.3 2.5 20.3 12.5 9.0 55.7 - 11.4 24.9 19.5 White non-Hispanic ....... 45.3 - 23.2 15.6 6.5 54.7 9.9 11.0 17.8 16.1 Black non-Hispanic ....... 47.8 17.4 8.3 8.8 13.3 52.2 - - 22.1 30.1 Hispanic or Latino ....... (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) Juniors who eventually graduated................. 28.9 5.0 12.5 6.4 5.0 69.6 11.3 29.2 19.4 9.6 Male ..................... 29.9 4.9 13.0 6.6 5.4 68.1 9.3 26.7 20.0 12.1 Female ................... 27.9 5.2 12.0 6.2 4.5 71.0 13.4 31.8 18.8 7.1 White non-Hispanic ....... 26.9 5.4 11.9 5.3 4.3 71.7 12.1 30.6 19.6 9.4 Black non-Hispanic ....... 36.0 2.7 14.4 9.9 9.1 62.4 4.9 26.3 18.9 12.3 Hispanic or Latino ....... 35.5 4.2 16.4 9.9 5.0 61.6 9.3 22.8 19.9 9.6 1 Data not shown where cell size is less than 50. NOTE: Totals do not add to 100 percent because the exact number of weeks or hours of employment could not be calculated for a small number of employed youth. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. The school year is defined as September through May, excluding the last full week of December and the first week of January. Summer is defined as June, July, and August. Table 7. Percent of high school students who did not receive a diploma by age 20 by grade, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and employment status during the school year Employment status during Characteristic Total the school year Worked Did not work Freshmen.......................... 23.3 29.0 21.6 Male........................... 25.5 28.8 24.3 Female......................... 21.0 29.4 18.9 White non-Hispanic.............. 20.7 26.4 17.9 Black non-Hispanic ............. 33.0 31.1 43.1 Hispanic or Latino ............. 27.9 36.4 25.8 Sophomores ........................ 16.3 18.0 15.0 Male ........................... 19.0 20.4 17.7 Female ......................... 13.4 14.9 12.4 White non-Hispanic ............. 14.1 16.2 12.2 Black non-Hispanic ............. 23.5 24.4 23.0 Hispanic or Latino ............. 20.9 24.9 18.5 Juniors ........................... 9.9 9.9 10.0 Male ........................... 11.1 11.2 10.8 Female ......................... 8.7 8.4 9.1 White non-Hispanic ............. 8.2 8.5 7.6 Black non-Hispanic ............. 15.1 13.6 16.9 Hispanic or Latino ............. 13.6 14.3 12.9 Seniors ........................... 4.4 4.2 4.5 Male ........................... 5.2 5.4 4.6 Female ......................... 3.7 3.7 3.6 White non-Hispanic ............. 3.7 3.9 2.9 Black non-Hispanic ............. 6.5 6.6 6.3 Hispanic or Latino ............. 7.1 6.8 7.6 NOTE: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. The school year is defined as September through May, excluding the last full week of December and the first week of January. Summer is defined as June, July, and August.