From NPR: “‘It’s very frightening,’ says Doug Shapiro, who leads the research center at the National Student Clearinghouse, where the new data comes from. ‘Far from filling the hole of [2020’s] enrollment declines, we are still digging it deeper.’ … ‘The easiest assumption is that they’re out there working,’ says Shapiro. ‘Unemployment is down. The labor market is good. Wages are rising for workers in low-skilled jobs. So if you have a high school diploma, this seems like a pretty good time to be out there making some money.’ Wages at the bottom of the economy have increased dramatically, making minimum-wage jobs especially appealing to young people as an alternative to college. In December, for example, jobs for non-managers working in leisure and hospitality paid 15% more than a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”
