8.5 Voting participation
IV
In addition to academic achievement, an important outcome of education is an edu- cated, productive, and engaged citizenry. This section contains indicators on the so- cial and economic outcomes of education, measured by occupational status, worker satisfaction, and voter participation. Tra- ditional outcome measures are also presented on income and unemployment rates by lev-
els of education completed. Because income and employment are associated with educa- tional attainment, outcome data for different racial/ethnic groups are broken out by levels of educational attainment. An additional in- dicator on adult literacy and reading habits shows differences in patterns of education- related activities among adults.
In 2000, the unemployment rate for His- panics ages 25 and older was 4.4 percent—between the rate for White indi- viduals (2.4 percent) and for Black individuals (5.4 percent). Among younger Hispanics, the unemployment rate was higher: for ages 16 to 19, the unemploy- ment rate was 16.7 percent and for ages 20 to 24, it was 7.5 percent. This same pattern is evident for the White and Black popula- tions as well, and presumably relates to the fact that younger people generally have fewer skills and less experience compared to the population over 24 years old.
8.1 Unemployment rates
Among Hispanics, as well as among individuals from other racial/ethnic groups, unemployment rates are generally lower for older age groups and people with more education. Unemployment rates for Hispanics are higher on average than for Whites, but are lower than those for Blacks.
As the unemployment rate decreases with age, it also generally decreases with increased edu- cation for all age and racial/ethnic groups. For example, in 2000, the unemployment rate of Hispanics ages 20 to 24 years with a high school education was 7.8 percent, com- pared to 4.3 percent for Hispanics ages 20 to 24 with a bachelor’s degree or higher. The one notable exception is that recipients of associate degrees tend to be employed more than recipients of bachelor’s degrees or higher.
Unemployment rates of persons 16 years old and over, by age, race/ethnicity, and highest degree attained: 2000
Race/ethnicity and 25 years
highest degree attained Total 16–19* 20–24* and over All persons
All education levels 9.3 13.1 7.2 3.0
Less than high school completion 15.3 15.6 14.4 6.4 High school completer, no college 9.3 11.6 8.4 3.5
Some college, no degree 5.5 6.7 5.1 2.9
Associate degree 3.3 4.6 3.2 2.3
Bachelor’s degree or higher 4.3 # 4.3 1.7
White, non-Hispanic
All education levels 7.4 10.4 5.5 2.4
Less than high school completion 12.7 12.7 13.1 5.2 High school completer, no college 7.2 9.0 6.4 2.8
Some college, no degree 4.5 5.3 4.3 2.5
Associate degree 3.0 5.7 2.9 2.0
Bachelor’s degree or higher 4.0 # 4.0 1.6
Black, non-Hispanic
All education levels 18.5 25.1 15.3 5.4
Less than high school completion 29.8 28.7 32.2 10.5 High school completer, no college 18.6 24.1 16.7 6.6
Some college, no degree 9.9 11.8 9.6 4.2
Associate degree 6.3 7.5 6.3 3.5
Bachelor’s degree or higher 5.9 # 6.1 2.5
Hispanic
All education levels 10.5 16.7 7.5 4.4
Less than high school completion 14.4 20.0 9.6 6.3 High school completer, no college 9.0 12.5 7.8 3.9
Some college, no degree 6.3 10.5 5.0 3.2
Associate degree 1.9 # 2.0 2.8
Bachelor’s degree or higher 4.2 # 4.3 2.2
* Estimates exclude persons enrolled in school. # Rounds to zero.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished data from the Current Population Survey, 2000.
Ages 16–24*
In 2000, the median earnings of Hispanic men age 25 and older were about $13,000 less than that of White men.63 Male Hispanic
earnings were lower than male White earn- ings at most education levels, except at the associate and master’s degree levels, where apparent differences were not statistically sig- nificant. In fact, the earnings gap between Hispanic and White men increased as educa- tion levels increased. There was about a $6,300 difference at the high school completer, no college level, and about a $13,400 difference at the bachelor’s degree or higher level.
The average median earnings of Hispanic women age 25 and older were about $6,500 less than that of White women. Among women who had completed high school without completing college credits, Hispanic women earned less than White women. His- panic women with a bachelor’s degree or higher earned less than their White and Black counterparts. Other apparent differences in the earnings of Hispanic, White, and Black women were not statistically significant, ex- cept between Hispanic and Black and between White and Black women whose highest level of educational attainment was a bachelor’s degree.64
8.2 Income
There is a positive relationship between education and salary for all racial/ethnic groups, but the incomes of Hispanic men are lower than those of White men at most educational levels.
63 Unlike most instances, White and Black categories include those of Hispanic origin.
64 The fact that there is no statistical difference between Hispanics, Whites, and Blacks may be due to
Median earnings (in current dollars) for persons 25 years old and over, by sex, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment: 2000
Highest degree attained Total White Black Hispanic Total White Black Hispanic
All education levels $35,842 $36,668 $28,167 $23,425 $22,887 $23,078 $22,028 $16,601 9th to 12th grade,
no diploma 21,365 21,837 19,072 20,459 12,736 12,753 12,677 11,973 High school completer,
no college 30,665 31,295 25,466 24,973 18,393 18,627 17,822 16,757 Some college, no degree 35,463 36,051 30,915 30,591 22,308 22,242 22,960 21,860 Associate degree 38,472 40,270 30,583 35,100 25,398 25,480 25,411 22,347 Bachelor’s degree
or higher 55,059 55,906 42,591 42,518 35,691 35,472 37,898 32,035 Bachelor’s degree 50,441 51,099 40,360 41,244 32,163 31,892 35,788 28,531 Master’s degree 60,320 60,450 47,170 47,946 41,048 40,844 41,980 42,269 NOTE: White and Black categories include those of Hispanic origin.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Educational Attainment – People 25 Years Old and Over, by Total Money Earnings in 2000, Work Experience in 2000, Age, Race, Hispanic Origin, and Sex. Table PINC-03, based on March Current Population Survey, 2000.
Female Male
In 2000, a smaller proportion of Hispanic and Black men were employed in managerial and professional occupations than White men.65 The same held true for Hispanic and
Black women compared to White women. Among all racial/ethnic groups, women were more likely than men to be employed in tech-
nical, sales, and administrative support occu- pations, and they also were more likely (among all racial/ethnic groups) to be em- ployed in managerial and professional positions.
8.3 Type of occupation and worker satisfaction
Fewer Hispanic and Black men and women hold managerial or professional positions than White men and women. No differences were detected between the percentages of Hispanic and White recipients of bachelor’s degrees reporting satisfaction with co-workers or with working conditions.
(Continued on page 120.)
Percentage distribution of employed persons according to occupation, by sex and race/ethnicity: 2000
Occupation Total White Black Hispanic Total White Black Hispanic
Managerial & professional
specialty (includes teachers) 28.4 29.2 18.5 11.4 32.3 33.4 24.8 17.8 Technical, sales, and
administrative support 19.8 19.7 18.8 14.9 40.0 40.5 38.6 37.2 Service occupations 10.0 9.1 17.4 15.2 17.5 16.4 25.2 26.2 Precision production, craft,
and repair 18.7 19.5 14.2 22.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 3.3
Operators, fabricators, and
laborers 19.3 18.4 29.0 28.1 6.9 6.4 9.1 13.6
Farming, forestry, and
fishing 3.7 4.0 2.1 8.2 1.1 1.3 0.2 1.8
NOTE: White and Black categories include those of Hispanic origin. Detail may not add to 100.0 due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished data from the Current Population Survey, 2000.
Female Male
In 1997, over one-half of all Hispanic re- cipients of 1992–93 bachelor’s degrees reported that their jobs were closely related to their degrees and had definite career potential (58 and 54 percent, respectively). In terms of their evaluation of their work- ing environments, 80 percent of Hispanic bachelor’s degree recipients said they were
very satisfied with their co-workers, 57 per- cent with their supervisors, and 55 percent with their working conditions. Except for satisfaction with working conditions (where more Hispanics reported being very satis- fied than Blacks), no differences were detected between the percentages of His- panics and those of Whites and Blacks.
Percent of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients employed in April 1997 who were very satisfied with various aspects of their work environment, by race/ ethnicity
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:93/97), restricted-used data.
Percent
White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Hispanic
Co-workers Supervisor Working conditions
0 20 40 60 80 100 81 71 80 61 49 57 57 42 55
Chapter 8 — Labor Market and Social Outcomes
Percent of employed 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who reported various job characteristics for primary job held in April 1997, by race/ethnicity
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:93/97), restricted-use data.
Percent
White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Hispanic Job closely related to degree Job has definite career potential 0 20 40 60 80 100 57 50 58 58 47 54
Literacy proficiency is strongly related to lev- els of formal schooling. Successive levels of formal education are accompanied by rises in average literacy proficiencies, suggesting that high literacy abilities and high levels of edu- cation strongly reinforce one another.66 As
shown in Indicator 7.6, Hispanics are less likely than both Whites and Blacks to com- plete college. The National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) defines literacy as “using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to de- velop one’s knowledge and potential.” The NALS reported on three scales of literacy (prose, document, and quantitative) and the scores have been divided into five ranges, each range representing a level of profi-
ciency.67 The average proficiencies of Hispan-
ics in prose, document, and quantitative literacy are lower than those of Whites and Blacks, and the average proficiencies of Whites exceed both those of Hispanics and Blacks (supplemental table 8.4a).
In 1999, 29 percent of all Hispanics ages 25 and over read regularly, while about one-half of White and Black adults (53 and 47 per- cent, respectively) read regularly.68 Hispanic
adults also differed from White and Black adults in their particular reading habits: they were less likely to read the newspaper daily or to have read a book in the past 6 months than Whites and Blacks.
66 C.F. Kaestle, A. Campbell, J.D. Finn, S.T. Johnson, and L.J. Mikulecky, Adult Literacy and Education
in America: Four Studies Based on the National Adult Literacy Survey (NCES 2001–534).
67 Prose literacy encompasses the knowledge and skills needed to understand and use information from
texts that include editorials, news stories, poems, and fiction. Document literacy encompasses the knowledge and skills required to locate and use information contained in materials that include job applications, payroll forms, transportation schedules, maps, tables, and graphs. Quantitative literacy encompasses the knowledge and skills required to apply arithmetic operations, either alone or sequentially, using numbers embedded in printed materials.
68 Reading regularly is defined as reading a newspaper once a week, at least one magazine regularly, and a
book in the past 6 months.