Reports Show PA High School Dropouts Face Financial Hardships, Labor Force Consequences

Reports Show PA High School Dropouts Face Financial Hardships, Labor Force
Consequences

Reports Released at Dropout Prevention Summit

HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Department of Labor &
Industry Acting Secretary Sandi Vito today highlighted two
Pennsylvania-specific reports showing high school dropouts are more likely to
earn far less or be unemployed than workers who have earned a diploma.

"If young people give up on their education, that doesn't mean we should give
up on them," Vito said. "These reports demonstrate the negative effects that
dropping out has on young people, our communities and state as a whole. Using
this information, state and local leaders can really get at the heart of the
dropout issue, and develop ways to bring at-risk youth back into the education
and workforce systems where they can build a more promising future."

The two reports, "The Long-Term Labor Market Consequences of Dropping Out of
High School in Pennsylvania" and "The Tax and Transfer Fiscal Impacts of
Dropping Out of High School in Pennsylvania," were commissioned by Labor &
Industry and prepared by the Northeastern University Center for Labor Market
Studies.

Highlights of the two reports include:
-- Only 52 percent of high school dropouts in Pennsylvania were employed
during the 2006 calendar year compared to nearly 72 percent of the
state's high school graduates, 84 percent of those with a
bachelor's degree, and 86 percent of those with a master's or
a higher academic degree.

-- The mean annual earnings of 18- to 64-year-old high school dropouts in
Pennsylvania were $14,600 -- less than half of the mean annual
earnings
of all adults, which was $33,600. The mean earnings of high school
graduates in the state was $23,800 compared to $31,000 for
college-educated Pennsylvanians who had completed some college below
the
bachelor's degree level, $48,400 for those with a bachelor's
degree, and $73,800 for those who had a master's degree or higher.

-- Over their entire working lifetime, high school dropouts in
Pennsylvania
are expected to earn $660,400 and high school graduates, $1.04
million.
Pennsylvanians who complete some college education below a
bachelor's degree can expect to earn $1.31 million -- twice as much
as high school dropouts. Individuals with a bachelor's degree and
those with a master's degree or higher are expected to earn 3 and 4
times as much as high school dropouts, respectively, over their
working
lifetimes.

-- Nearly 40 percent of Pennsylvania dropouts received one or more cash
transfer payments -- such as unemployment compensation, TANF
(Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families) or supplemental security income --
compared to 27 percent among high school graduates, 22 percent among
adults with some college education below the bachelor's degree
level, 10 percent among college graduates with a bachelor's degree,
and 8.6 percent among those with a master's degree or higher.

The reports were released Nov. 13 during the Pennsylvania Dropout Prevention
Summit in Harrisburg. The event was one of more than 50 summits being
sponsored by the America's Promise Alliance, the nation's largest multi-sector
collaborative dedicated to the well-being of children and youth -- was hosted
by the departments of Labor & Industry, Education and Public Welfare; PA
Partnerships for Children and other Pennsylvania organizations.

More than 100 individuals, including members of state government and the
General Assembly, workforce development and education professionals, youth
advocacy organizations and young people who formerly struggled in school (but
have achieved postsecondary success), attended the summit. The attendees were
brought together to begin the process of developing local and state solutions
to re-connect struggling students and out-of-school youth to programs and
services leading to high school graduation and postsecondary success.

To read the reports or learn more about programs and services for young
Pennsylvanians, visit www.paworkforce.state.pa.us.

CONTACT: Troy Thompson
(717) 787-7530

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry

Troy Thompson of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry,
+1-717-787-7530