Dropping Back In: Re-engaging Out-of-School Youth – which also shows that twice as many high school dropouts are unemployed as their diploma-holding peers – recommends state and local policy strategies and initiatives to re-connect high school dropouts with their education. The report details income, unemployment and poverty rates based on educational attainment from data available through the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry and the 2007 American Community Survey of the U.S. Census.

Earnings and access to employment are directly linked to the amount of education a person possesses. In Pennsylvania, young people who drop out of school can expect their annual earnings to be less than half those of a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree (roughly $19,000 vs. $45,000) – and their likelihood of living in poverty to be six times higher (21 percent vs. 3 percent). Many students don’t consider the long-term repercussions of dropping out such as increased unemployment, less earning potential, poverty, and reliance on public assistance.

Press Release
TWICE AS MANY HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS UNEMPLOYED & LIVING IN POVERTY THAN DIPLOMA-HOLDING PEERS
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Data Tables
-Graduation Information for School Districts, Charter Schools, Career and Technology Centers and State Facilities

-Median Household Income and Median Earnings by Educational Attainment

-Poverty Rate by Educational Attainment

-Unemployment Rate by Educational Attainment