College Enrollment Follows Rising Unemployment Rates

The current economic recession has driven college enrollment up across the country. At the same time, the recession has prompted many young Americans to pursue a degree rather than immediately entering the workforce after high school. The Economist reported that as of October this year, “41 percent of 18 to 24 year olds were enrolled in either two-year colleges or four- year colleges or higher, up from 39 percent a year earlier.” This is an all-time high for college enrollment in the United States and the main culprit is the economy.

With the unemployment rate hitting nearly 10.2 percent in October, a sharp increase from 9.8 percent in September, Americans are faced with the worst job market in over a generation. Those who bear the brunt of unemployment rate are 16 to 24 year olds, whose unemployment rate is 19.1 percent. However, unemployment is only one factor in increased college enrollment. The Pew Research Center reported that along with increasing enrollment there has also been a steady decrease over the past couple decades in young Americans entering the work force directly out of high school.

The Pew Research Center estimated that the number of high school drop-outs has steadily decreased from nearly 15.7 percent in 1973 to 9.3 percent in 2008, so the number of potential college students has risen. Because more students are eligible to attend college after receiving a high school diploma, far fewer are directly entering the workforce.

In addition to the increase in eligible students, a large wage gap has developed between college and high school graduates. Starting in the 1980s the “college premium,” or difference between the income of college and high school graduates, has steadily grown, causing many more young adults to pursue higher education. Though the growing gap has recently stabilized, it is still an evident factor in young adults deciding whether or not they will attend college.

The number of well-paying unskilled labor jobs has also decreased greatly in recent decades, causing many employment opportunities to require a college degree. With new technology taking away unskilled- labor-oriented jobs previously held by high school graduates, new generations are seeing it almost necessary to have a college degree to find success in today’s society.

Many schools, such as the Technical College System of Georgia, which has seen its number of applications increase by 24 percent from last year to this year, have had to sharply raise their tuition fees. The Economist has reported that enrollment has increased drastically even though “tuition fees have risen by an average of 4-7 percent.” Even with many Americans cutting back on superfluous expenses during the recession, they still seem to be willing to pay top dollar for a college education.

The economic problem poses extra difficulties for colleges, because as their enrollment increases, funding decreases. Public colleges are seeing cuts in funding from state governments, while private universities’ endowments and investments have been hurt by the financial crisis. The Technical College System of Georgia received nearly 60 percent of their budget from the state before the state froze their funding in an attempt to control its own finances. Even with tuition charges increasing by nearly $600 a quarter, the school still has insufficient funds to continue operating as usual. They have had to cut Friday classes to make up for the decrease in funding.

As the economy begins to recover over the next few years, the possibility that increasing college enrollment will begin to slow remains; however it seems that the general trend within modern society to pursue higher education will continue to reign.

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