Employment and Unemployment Among Youth Summary


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           EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 2007

   
   From April to July 2007, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old
increased by 2.3 million to 21.7 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  July is the traditional summer-
time peak for youth employment.  This summer’s increase in youth employment 
was slightly lower than last year's 2.5 million increase. Unemployment among 
youth increased by 548,000 between April and July, a smaller rise than in 2006.  
(Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes in youth employment and 
unemployment that occur every spring and summer, the data are not seasonally 
adjusted.)
   
Labor force
   
   The youth labor force--16- to 24-year-olds working or actively looking
for work--grows sharply between April and July each year.  During these
months, large numbers of high school and college students take or search
for summer jobs, and many graduates enter the labor market to look for or
begin permanent employment.  This summer, the youth labor force grew by 
2.9 million to a total of 24.3 million in July.  (See table 1.)
   
   The labor force participation rate for youth--the proportion of their
population working or looking for work--was 65.0 percent in July 2007, down
from 66.7 percent in July 2006 and about 13 percentage points below its
peak for that month in 1989 (77.5 percent).  Over the 1989-2007 period, the
proportion of youth enrolled in school in July trended up; youth enrolled
in school are much less likely than those not in school to be in the labor
force.
   
   The July 2007 labor force participation rates for 16- to 24-year-old men
(67.9 percent) and women (62.1 percent) were lower than a year earlier.  For 
several decades prior to 1989, young men’s July labor force participation rate 
showed no clear trend, ranging from 81 to 86 percent.  Since July 1989, however, 
their participation rate has declined by about 15 percentage points.  Young 
women’s July labor force participation rate peaked in 1989 after a long-term 
upward trend; their rate has fallen by about 10 percentage points since then.
   
   The July participation rates for whites (68.0 percent), blacks (54.1 per-
cent), and Hispanics (59.5 percent) declined over the year.  For all three 
groups, labor force participation rates were more than 10 percentage points 
lower than their peak levels for July 1989.  The participation rate for Asian 
youth in July 2007 (49.4 percent) was not much different from July 2006.  (See 
table 2.)
                                          
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Employment
   
   In July 2007, 21.7 million 16- to 24-year-olds were employed.  The em-
ployment-population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-year-
old civilian noninstitutional population that was employed--was 58.0 per-
cent, 1.2 percentage points lower than in July 2006.  The ratio has fallen 
by about 11 percentage points since its peak in July 1989.  The July 2007
employment-population ratios for young men (60.3 percent), whites (61.7 
percent), and Hispanics (52.5 percent) were lower than a year earlier; the 
rates for young women (55.6 percent), blacks (43.0 percent), and Asians 
(45.6 percent) were little changed.  (See table 2.)
   

   In July 2007, 22 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and
hospitality industry (which includes food services) and 20 percent worked
in retail trade.  In addition, nearly two-fifths of employed youth worked
in education and health services, professional and business services,
government, construction, and manufacturing combined.  (See table 3.)
                                    

Unemployment
   
   In July 2007, 2.6 million youth were unemployed.  The youth unemployment
rate (10.8 percent) was little different from July 2006.  The July 2007 un-
employment rates for young men (11.1 percent), women (10.4 percent), whites 
(9.3 percent), Asians (7.7 percent), and Hispanics (11.8 percent) showed 
little change from a year earlier.  The rate for black youth (20.5 percent) 
decreased over the year.  (See table 2.)

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Last Modified Date: August 24, 2007