A GROUP OF YOUNG MEN AGED 16 TO 21 WHO HAD BEEN INTERVIEWED BY THE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS IN A NATIONWIDE SAMPLE STUDY OF THE EARLY WORK EXPERIENCE OF OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH IN 1963 WERE RESURVEYED IN FEBRUARY 1965 TO ASSESS THE RELATIVE SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRESS OF THE DROPOUTS AND THE GRADUATES. THE RESURVEY INCLUDED 2.4 MILLION OF THE 2.7 MILLION YOUTH IN THE ORIGINAL SAMPLE. ONE OF 20 OF THE DROPOUTS AND ONE OF FIVE OF THE GRADUATES RETURNED TO SCHOOL BETWEEN 1963 AND 1965. ABOUT 13 PERCENT OF THE DROPOUTS AND 25 PERCENT OF THE GRADUATES HAD TAKEN SOME FORMAL JOB TRAINING OTHER THAN VOCATIONAL OR OTHER TRAINING RECEIVED IN REGULAR SCHOOLS. ONLY 4.9 PERCENT OF THE MEN WERE NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE IN 1965 WHILE 9.4 PERCENT WERE SO CLASSIFIED IN 1963. OVER ONE-FOURTH OF THE GRADUATES BUT ONLY 11 PERCENT OF THE DROPOUTS HELD WHITE COLLAR JOBS. THE DATA FOR ALL MEASURES SUCH AS JOB HELD, UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, EARNINGS, STEADINESS OF EMPLOYMENT, HOURS OF WORK, AND LABOR MOBILITY SHOWED THAT THE MEN WITH MORE EDUCATION MADE GREATER ADVANCES OVER THE 2-YEAR PERIOD. A DISCUSSION OF THE SAMPLE DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY AND 11 DETAILED TABLES ARE INCLUDED. THIS DOCUMENT APPEARED IN THE "MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW," AUGUST 1966, AND IS AVAILABLE FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20210. (ET)