VOL. 6, NO. 15
MAY 14, 1965

Uneducated Will Face Competitive Problems
The importance of completing a high school education and going beyond, if possible, has been stressed many times on this page. As we move further into the electronic age the uneducated and the poorly educated face increasing problems.

A survey made three years ago of those who had been high school drop-outs for one year showed that the unemployment rate for those persons was 15.7 per cent.

Today those who have been high school drop-outs for a year have an unemployment rate of 31 per cent, almost double that of three years ago. This figure is expected to increase as time goes on.

There is no great shortage of jobs. On the contrary, there are jobs going begging. There is a growing need for technicians, for persons with special training to support those who work in the professions.
 The competition for employment among high school graduates will grow more intense. For every two persons who reached the age of 18 in the past five years, three will reach that age in the next five years.

Governor Kerner is urging the passage of legislation to raise the compulsory school age from 16 to 18 years, citing the fact that high school drop-outs in the 16 to 18 category face severe unemployment problems in Illinois. The latest Labor Department statistics for the nation bear out this statement. The unemployment for teenagers in mid-March was 13.9 per cent nationally, or 51/2 times that of adult married men.

Those who drop out of high school face the probability of becoming public charges. Those who finish high school and stop their education at that point face an increasing competition for jobs. That is a fact that must be drummed home constantly to younger persons.