TABLE 1—
Sociodemographic Characteristics of Young Adults Aged 18–34 Years, by College Status and Age: United States, Current Population Survey, 2003
| Aged 18–24 Years (n = 16 395) | Aged 25–34 Years (n = 31 592) | |||
| College Educated,a % | Non–college-Educated,a % | College Educated,a % | Non–College-Educated,a % | |
| Gender | ||||
| Men | 41.7 | 46.7 | 42.5 | 45.3 |
| Women | 58.3 | 53.3 | 57.5 | 54.7 |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 74.7 | 63.5 | 79.4 | 61.7 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 8.6 | 11.6 | 6.0 | 11.5 |
| Hispanic | 8.8 | 19.2 | 5.9 | 20.9 |
| Asian | 4.9 | 1.6 | 6.8 | 2.2 |
| Other | 0.9 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 2.0 |
| Multiple race | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| Annual household income | ||||
| < $19 999 | 25.0 | 30.4 | 7.0 | 23.0 |
| $20 000–49 999 | 30.5 | 37.2 | 29.1 | 41.8 |
| ≥ $50 000 | 35.1 | 22.4 | 56.6 | 25.8 |
| Unknown | 9.4 | 10.1 | 7.3 | 9.4 |
| Occupation | ||||
| White collar workersb | 49.8 | 32.3 | 74.8 | 35.6 |
| Service worker (waiter, bartender, etc.) | 16.9 | 22.8 | 7.6 | 17.7 |
| Farm worker | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.0 |
| Blue collar workersc | 8.0 | 23.5 | 6.4 | 26.1 |
| Not in labor forced | 24.8 | 20.0 | 10.9 | 19.6 |
| Employment Status | ||||
| Employed | 69.0 | 68.9 | 85.8 | 73.5 |
| Unemployede | 5.6 | 11.7 | 2.9 | 6.6 |
| Not in labor forced | 25.4 | 19.5 | 11.3 | 20.0 |
Note. P values derived from χ2 tests for categorical variables between college-educated and non–college-educated respondents were all significant at the 0.01 level, except for multiple race and employed among respondents aged 18–24 years.
aAmong those aged 18 to 24 years, college educated was defined as being currently enrolled in a 2- or 4-year college or university, or having at least a college degree but being no longer enrolled in school. The non–college-educated group comprised those that were not enrolled in a college or university and whose educational attainment was less than a degree from a 2- or 4-year college or university. For respondents older than 24 years, non–college-educated was defined as having less than a degree from a 2- or 4-year college or university.
bAs defined by CPS; includes following categories: management, business, and financial; professional and related; sales and related; and office and administrative support.
cAs defined by CPS; includes following categories: construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving.
dDefined as persons who had not looked for work during the past month.
eDefined as persons who were not employed during the reference week but were available for work and had made specific efforts to find employment during the past month.