Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
6 <br /> cc n or.n'ric IIr.n'r 1 cl, <br /> Poor outcomes for young men of color has severe economic consequences for the state and the nation. <br /> A large percentage of black males are essentially unprepared for today's rapidly changing market place, <br /> especially as America faces stiff competition from abroad. In 2010 the unemployment rate among black <br /> males ages 20 and over (17.3%) was twice as high as the unemployment rate among white males of the <br /> same age (8.6%). <br /> Dropouts represent lost tax revenue because of their reduced earnings potential. Individuals who lack a <br /> high school education will have lifetime earnings that are only about 60%of those with that education, a <br /> difference in lifetime salary of approximately$300,000. The Alliance for Excellent Education'reported that <br /> "if the students who dropped out of the Class of 2009 had graduated, the nation's economy would have <br /> benefited from nearly$335 billion in additional income over the course of their lifetimes." <br /> 200/ Median hricoime by Education Level <br /> $70,000 <br /> $60,000 <br /> S50,000 <br /> $40,000 <br /> $30,000 <br /> $20,000 <br /> $:10,000 <br /> $0 <br /> High Scirooll High School Some College or Bacirellor°s Degree Advanced Degree <br /> Dropout Diploma Associate's Degree <br /> The benefit to North Carolina would have been more than $12 billion over the course of their lifetimes. <br /> If half of the individuals who dropped out of the Class of 2010 had earned their high school diploma, North <br /> Carolina would likely have seen a $28 million annual increase in tax revenue because of increased wages <br /> and higher levels of spending by these individuals, a $655 million increase in home sales, a $30 million <br /> increase in auto sales, 2,600 new jobs, and an increase of$376 million in the gross state product by the <br /> time the students reached the midpoints of their careers.2 <br /> Dropouts also mean rising costs for social programs and prisons. The Alliance for Excellent Education3 <br /> estimated that the nation would see an annual savings of$4.9 billion in crime-related costs if the male <br /> graduation rate were increased by only five percent. As reflected in the following table, North Carolina <br /> 1 The Alliance for Excellent Education, Issue Brief,August 2009 <br /> 2 The Alliance for Excellent Education, Education and the Economy(North Carolina Report),March 2011 <br /> 3 The Alliance for Excellent Education, Issue Brief,August 2009 <br /> 4 <br />