In 1990/1991, nearly 340,000 or 16.6% of young people aged 20 to 24 had not completed a high school diploma and were not attending school. This high school dropout rate declined significantly through the 1990s and 2000s.
By 2009/2010, that number had fallen to 191,000 (8.5%).
Dropout rates in 2009/2010 were lower for young women (6.6%) than for young men (10.3%). While rates have declined for both sexes, the rate of decrease was faster for men, resulting in a narrowing of the gap over time.
Rates were lower for young immigrant adults than for their Canadian-born counterparts and higher for Aboriginal youth in this age group compared with non-Aboriginal youth.
During the recent economic downturn in 2008/2009, nearly one out of every four dropouts in the labour market was unable to find a job. Even among those who did find work, their earnings were less than for those with a high school diploma.
Dropout rates falling, but more slowly in recent years
Dropout rates have been falling since 1990/1991 when nearly 340,000 or 16.6% of young people had not completed a high school diploma and were not currently enrolled in school.
The largest declines occurred during the 1990s; by 2000/2001, the rate had dropped to 11.1%. Decreases during the 2000s were more gradual.
By 2009/2010, 8.5% of young people aged 20 to 24 had not completed their high school diploma and were not attending school.
Rates fell in all provinces. The biggest changes occurred in most of the Atlantic provinces, where rates fell from the 15% to 20% range in the early 1990s to 9% to 11% a decade later. Since then, the rates for these provinces have fallen even further.
Newfoundland and Labrador had the most significant change in dropout rates over the past 20 years. Its three-year average rate between 1990 and 1993 was 19.9%, highest in Canada. Between 2007 and 2010, the three-year average had declined to 7.4%, one of the lowest. The average was lowest in British Columbia at 6.2% between 2007 and 2010.
The dropout rate is defined as the share of 20 to 24 year-olds who are not attending school and who have not graduated from high school.
Dropout rates for individual groups
In 2009/2010, 10.3% of young men and 6.6% of young women had dropped out of high school. These rates were down significantly for both sexes from 1990/1991 when they were 19.2% for young men and 14.0% for young women.
The gap between the sexes narrowed slightly over time, from 5.2 percentage points in 1990/1991 to 3.7 percentage points in 2009/2010. The share of young men dropping out fell faster during this period.
Between 2007 and 2010, the three-year average dropout rate among First Nations people living off-reserve, Métis and Inuit aged 20 to 24 was 22.6%, compared with 8.5% for non-Aboriginal people. Among young off-reserve First Nations people (North American Indians), the dropout rate was 25.8%, and for Métis, 18.9%.
Among immigrant youth aged 20 to 24, the dropout rate in 2009/2010 was 6.2%, compared with 9.1% for the Canadian-born in this age group. Both rates were down slightly from 7.0% for young immigrants and 9.8% for Canadian-born youth in 2006/2007.
Nearly one in four dropouts unemployed during the recent downturn
During the deepest part of the recent economic downturn in 2008/2009, almost one in four dropouts aged 20 to 24 was unable to find work. In addition, the gap between their unemployment rate and that of their counterparts who had completed high school widened.
In 2007/2008, prior to the downturn, the unemployment rate for dropouts was 18.0%. This was more than double the rate of 8.4% among high school graduates aged 20 to 24 who were not enrolled in any educational institution.
By 2008/2009, during the deepest part of the downturn, the unemployment rate for dropouts reached 21.3%. In 2009/2010, into the early recovery, their unemployment rate had increased to 23.2%.
In contrast, the unemployment rates for high school completers who were not in school rose to 10.0% in 2008/2009 and increased to 11.9% in 2009/2010.
Dropouts employed full time in 2009/2010 were working almost one hour more per week than high school graduates who were not in school (39.9 hours versus 39.2 hours). However, they were earning about $70 less per week on average ($551 versus $621).