A Racial Employment Gap for Students Entering Two-Year Colleges

Filed in Research & Studies on July 16, 2018

A new report from the U.S. Department of Education offers demographic data of students who began their postsecondary education at two-year colleges. The reports also provides information on the employment status of these students while they were enrolled in two-year educational institutions.

The data shows that African Americans make up 13.9 percent of all new students at two-year colleges. More than 65 percent of these Black student were not employed at the time they began their studies at these two-year colleges. For Whites entering two-year colleges, just under 52 percent were not employed.

Slightly more than 14 percent of entering Black students at two-year colleges were employed full-time, compared to 20.5 percent of entering White students at these institutions. Some 6.8 percent of entering Black students held part-time jobs where they worked 20 hours or less. For entering White students, 12.1 percent had part-time jobs where they worked 20 hours or less.

The full report, Working Before, During, and After Beginning at a Public 2-Year Institution: Labor Market Experiences of Community College Students, may be downloaded by clicking here.