1 Data include a relatively small number of January 1962 graduates,

NOTE. Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals,

98-466 63-vol. 5-12

Unemployed as percent of civilian labor force in each group

Furthermore, nonwhites failed to improve their economic position over time as much as white youth. Comparing the October 1962 jobs of young people who last attended school before 1960 and of those who left school between 1960 and 1962, the proportion of graduates and dropouts in service and laboring jobs dropped off noticeably for the older white youth but remained approximately the same for the older as for the younger nonwhites. Fewer of the earlier than the recent nonwhite graduates were farm laborers, but more were in service occupations. There was also some increase in the proportion employed as craftsmen and as professional and technical workers among the earlier graduates." Rates of unemployment for nonwhite graduates and dropouts remained relatively high even after they had been out of school several years, while the rates for the older white graduates and dropouts declined sharply.

This preprint contains, in addition to the article which will be published in the July 1963 issue of the Review, the following material: Explanatory note. Detailed tables:

A. Employment status of high school graduates 16 to 24 years of age not enrolled in college, by year of graduation, sex, color, and marital status of women, October 1962.

B. Employment status of persons 16 to 24 years of age who were not high school graduates and not enrolled in school, by year last attended school, sex, color, and marital status of women, October 1962.

C. Major occupation group of employed high school graduates 16 to 24 years of age not enrolled in college, by year of high school graduation, sex, and color, October 1962.

D. Major occupation group of employed persons 16 to 24 years of age who were not high school graduates and not enrolled in school, by year last attended school, sex, and color. October 1962.

E. Industry and class of worker of employed high school graduates not enrolled in college and of school dropouts by years of school completed, by sex, October 1962.

F. Industry and class of worker of employed high school graduates and school dropouts who last attended school in 1962 or 1961, by sex, October 1962.

G. Hours worked in nonagricultural industries by employed high school graduates and school dropouts who last attended school in 1962 or 1961, by sex, October 1962.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The estimates in this report are based on supplementary questions in the October 1962 monthly survey of the labor force conducted and tabulated for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Bureau of the Census. The basic labor force concepts, sample design, estimating methods, and reliability of the data are described briefly in the material which follows.'

12

DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS

Population coverage.-In the monthly survey, information is collected by trained interviewers from a sample of about 35,000 households in 333 areas throughout the country. Beginning with figures for April 1962 (March 1962 for reports on marital and family characteristics and on educational attainment) information from the 1960 Census of Population replaces that from the 1950 census in the estimation procedures for the monthly survey. Beginning in January 1960, the coverage of the monthly survey was extended to include

11 Pre-1960 graduates may include persons who have also graduated from college. Since the white group presumably includes a larger proportion of college graduates than does the nonwhite group, this difference may partially account for the greater job progress shown by

whites.

12 A more complete account of the methodology is published in the explanatory notes of

aska and Hawaii. The effects of these changes on comparability of historical ta are minor, particularly with respect to percentages. For further discuson of the effects of these changes see pages 1 (footnotes to table A-1) and IV of the May 1962 issue of the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly report, nployment and Earnings.

High school graduation status.-Persons who, at the time of the survey, were t enrolled in school as defined below were asked by the enumerator whether ey had graduated from high school and, if so, in what year. For those who re dropouts, that is, not high school graduates, information was obtained on e year they last attended school and, starting in 1962, the highest grade ended and the highest grade completed. The question on year of high 100l graduation was also asked of persons enrolled in college. School enrollment.-The school enrollment statistics are based on replies to › enumerator's inquiry as to whether the person had been enrolled at any ne during the current term or school year in day or night school in any type public, parochial, or other private school in the regular school system. ch schools include elementary schools, junior or senior high schools, and leges or universities. Persons enrolled in special schools not in the regular 1ool system, such as trade schools or business colleges, are not incuded in › enrollment figures. Persons enrolled in classes which do not require physical esence in school, such as correspondence courses or other courses of indendent study and training courses given directly on the job, are not reported enrolled in school.

Full-time and part-time attendance at college.-A college student was classi1 as attending college full time if he was taking 12 hours or more of classes ring the average school week, and part time if he was taking less than that ount.

Age. The age classification is based on the age of the person at his last thday.

Color.-The term "color" refers to the division of the population into two ups-white and nonwhite. The nonwhite group includes, among others, groes, Indians, Japanese, and Chinese.

Marital status of women.-Women were classified into three groups accordto their marital status at the time of interview: Single; married, husband esent; and other marital status. A woman was classified as "married, husd present" if her husband was reported as a member of the household even ugh he may have been temporarily absent on business, vacation, or a visit, in hospital, etc., at the time of interview. The term "other marital status" apes to all other married women and to women who were widowed or divorced. Employed.—Employed persons comprise those who, during the survey week, re either (a) "at work"-those who did any work for pay or profit, or worked hout pay for 15 hours or more on a family farm or business; or (b) “with a but not at work"-those who did not work and were not looking for work had a job or business from which they were temporarily absent because of cation, illness, industrial dispute, bad weather, or beacuse they were taking e off for various other reasons.

Occupation, industry, and class of worker.-The data on occupation, industry, 1 class of worker relate to the job held during the survey week, with persons loyed at two jobs or more classified in the one at which they worked the st hours. The occupation and industry categories used here are the major ups used in the 1960 Census of Population.

Tours of work. The statistics on hours of work relate to the actual number hours worked during the survey week. For persons working in more than job, these figures relate to the number of hours worked in all jobs during the -k.

ersons designated as working “full time” are those who worked 35 hours or re in the survey week; those designated as "part time" are persons who ked between 1 and 34 hours. Part-time workers are further classified by ir usual status at their present job (either full time or part time) and by their sons for working part time during the survey week (economic or other sons). "Economic reasons" include slack work, material shortages, repairs lant or equipment, start or termination of job during the week, and inability ind ful-time work. "Other reasons" include labor dispute, bad weather, own ess, vacation, demands of home housework, of school, etc., no desire for fulle work, full-time worker only during peak season, and similar reasons. nemployed.-Unemployed persons include those who did not work at all

during the survey week and were looking for work, regardless of whether they were eligible for unemployment insurance. Also included as unemployed are those who did not work at all during the survey week and (a) who were waiting either to be called back to a job from which they had been laid off or to report to a new wage or salary job scheduled to start within the following 30 days (and were not in school during the survey week) or (b) who would have been looking for work except that they were temporarily ill or believed no work was available in their line of work or in the community.

Labor force.-The civilian labor force comprises the total of all civilians classi fied as employed or unemployed in accordance with the criteria just described. Not in labor force. All civilians who are not classified as employed or unenployed are defined as "not in labor force."

RELIABILITY OF THE ESTIMATES

Estimating procedure.-The estimating procedure used in the monthly survey involves the inflation of weighted sample results to independent estimates of the civilian population of the United States by age, color, and sex. These inde pendent estimates are based on statistics from the 1960 Census of Population beginning with data for April 1962 (March 1962 for reports on marital and family characteristics and on educational attainment), adjusted for births, deaths, immigration, and emigration; and statistics on the strength of the Armed Forces. Prior to this time and beginning in January 1953, the estimates were based on similarly adjusted data from the 1950 Census of Population; before 1953, data from the 1940 census were used.

Variability. Since the estimates are based on a sample, they may differ from the figures that would have been obtained if it were possible to take a complete census using the same schedules and procedures.

As in any survey, the results are also subject to errors of response and re porting. These may be relatively large in the case of persons with irregular attachments to the labor market.

The standard error is primarily a measure of sampling variability, that is, the variations of sample estimates from a complete census that might occur by chance because only part of the population is surveyed. As calculated for this report, the standard error also partially measures the effect of response and enumeration errors but does not reflect any systematic biases in the data. The chances are about 2 out of 3 that an estimate from the sample would differ from a complete census by less than the standard error. The chances are about 19 out of 20 that the difference would be less than twice the standard error.

The figures shown in tables 1 and 2 are approximations of the standard errors which can be applied to the statistics presented in this report, and should be interpreted as indicators of the order of magnitude of the standard errors rather than as the precise standard error for any specific item.

TABLE 1.-Standard error of level of monthly estimates