The unemployment rate for high school dropouts continues to grow generating negative social and economic effects, according to a paper published in October by the Center for Labor Market Studies (CLMS) at Northeastern.
Drawing from 22 sets of government data, "The Consequences of Dropping Out of High School" paints a bleak picture. According to the study, only 45.7 percent of 16-24 year-old dropouts maintained employment in 2008, leaving a 22.4 percent gap between those with and without high school diplomas.
Andrew Sum, who headed the report and is the director of the CLMS, says it’s a long-term phenomenon that has only grown in the past few decades.
“There’s a changing job structure in the country. A lot of decent-paying jobs are no longer available … hiring requirements have changed, and more high school dropouts are pushed into lower paying jobs,” said Sum, also a professor in the economics department.
The study was commissioned by a group of organizations based in Connecticut, and similar work has been done in Illinois and Michigan. Sum said the study took three to complete.
Established 30 years ago, the Center for Labor Market Research conducts studies on various labor issues around the country, focusing in recent years on the youth labor market, which Sum says is the most disenfranchised group.
In what Sum called a “great national tragedy,” the United States is currently in its worst labor market since the end of World War II.
“The negative effects are really wide-spread. What we need is really a major new approach to putting young people back to work,” Sum said.
In the study, the largest group of dropouts affected were blacks. Only 31 percent of dropouts were employed, followed by Asians (43 percent), Hispanics (53 percent) and whites (54 percent). In all of these groups, men were the majority of those unemployed.
A jobless young labor force means major social ramifications. According to the Pew Center on the States, one out of every 100 adults was jailed or otherwise incarcerated in 2008. The CLMS study found that high school dropouts were 63 times more likely to be incarcerated than those with bachelor’s degrees.
Women who were high school dropouts between the ages of 16 - 24 were found to be six times more likely to have children and nine times more likely to be single mothers, the study showed.
A direct correlation between growing up in a low-income family and the likelihood of completing high school or pursuing secondary education was also found.
In turn, dropouts are less likely to maintain a household or contribute financially. Over a lifetime, the study found, a high school dropout will have a negative net fiscal contribution of around $5,200. An average high school graduate will contribute an around $287,000. According to the study, that means the average drop out will cost taxpayers $292,000 overall. These are hidden costs that Sum said have largely been ignored.
“The amount states are spending on prisoners comes close to the amount spent by the state on higher education. We all pay really large costs and it doesn’t leave money for getting things done,” said Sum. “The question is how do we then solve this problem? Prevention and recovery.”
Choosing to only focus on prevention and applying it to today’s youth is short-sited because the larger problem of the current unemployed workforce is ignored, said Sum.
The problem lies in the lack of support for legislation and the need for representation. According to Sum, the majority of labor legislation in Congress concerns the older worker, and rarely the young one. This is partially because young adults are less likely to vote and to organize and lobby.
There’s also the lack of permanent advocacy. “There’s the AARP. We need an AAYP,” Sum said.
Study: Unemployment rate for high school dropouts rising
Published: Thursday, November 5, 2009
Updated: Thursday, November 5, 2009
1 comments