We are told the unemployment rate is 9.7% for the month of February.  It may be considerably higher, but that is fodder for another conversation.  

All employment numbers are aggregates.  The 9.7 (or whatever number you feel comfortable) is actually an average of lots of different numbers.  Those different subsets are where the real information is in the unemployment report.

For example, people without a high school diploma have an unemployment rate of 15.2%.  College graduates have an unemployment rate of 4.9%.  That is a stark reality. 

The better our education system, the better we compete in the world.  The better we compete, the more jobs we have.  When we compete in worse fashion, we have fewer jobs.

These are the basics of economic policy.  Work hard, educate more, push productivity to higher levels and our national standard of living improves.  Fail at these and other nations grab our jobs.

People always wonder why conservatives talk about the moral issues.  Well, the moral issues have a lot to do with the unemployment rate, so we need be talking about substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and domestic violence.  Anything that causes drop-outs should be talked about.  When you see the two numbers, 15.2 and 4.9 it should compel us all to worry about what is going on in our education system and in the lives of kids.

A recent weekend I had the opportunity to see the small community of Truth or Consequences go all out in support of the Boys and Girls Club.  The program has broad based community support and has a long term impact, preventing dropouts.  Ultimately, that helps our nation’s economy. 

Every community has some sort of program to help students stay involved and engaged.  For my family when I was growing up it was 4-H.  Other families were in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, Key Club, etc.  Whatever the program, the stimulus for communities to keep their kids in school should be strong.  15.2-4.9 demands we pay attention.

Oh yes, the pattern is discernible up and down the scale.

• 4.9 % unemployment for Bachelor’s Degree or higher
• 8.5 % if the employee has some college
• 9.7 % average unemployment for the whole population
• 10.1 % unemployment if the worker has a high school diploma
• 5.2 % unemployment if the worker has not completed High School

I suspect that the same statistical lines exist no matter what the race of the child is.  In other words, if minorities are wondering what kind of chance their kid has in life, education will probably be the most important factor.  To ensure success, keep them in school.