45.9

The percentage of high school dropouts in the labor force in November 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s lower than the 77 percent participation rate for college grads, 71 percent rate for those with some college education and 61 percent for high school grads.

14

Percentage of high school dropouts in the labor force who are unemployed, six points higher than the unemployment rate for those with some college education and three times higher than the unemployment rate for collegians.

19

Percentage of construction employees who are unemployed, double the unemployment rate for all workers 16 and older; the sector is a major job sector for dropouts.

12

Percentage of leisure and hospitality workers (another career destination for dropouts) who are unemployed, nearly three points higher than the overall unemployment rate.

There are not many employment options for high school dropouts, especially true during what has been a long and protracted period of economic contraction.  And it won’t get any easier for them even after the economic pictures improves. As more jobs become knowledge-based and the nation’s economy becomes even-more interconnected to the rest of the world, high school dropouts will have fewer options for employment. More importantly, because nearly all of them were poorly educated even before they dropped out, they are unlikely to have the math and reading skills needed for even blue collar work.

Reforming American public education alone won’t solve the nation’s economic crisis in the short run. But in the long run, it will keep fewer dropouts from falling into poverty and prison — and reduce what is increasingly a long-term drag on the nation’s economy.