Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 03-412 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, August 8, 2003 EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 2003 The number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by 2.1 million from April to July, the traditional summertime peak for youth employment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This year's summertime expansion in youth employment was somewhat smaller than last year's 2.4 million increase. Unemployment among youth increased by 628,000 between April and July, the largest seasonal increase since 1998. (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 as large numbers of high school and college students take or search for summer employment and many graduates enter the labor market to begin or seek permanent jobs. This summer, the youth labor force rose by 2.7 million to a total of 24.2 million in July. (See table 1.) The July labor force participation rate for youth--the proportion of their population working or looking for work--in 2003 (67.3 percent) was lower than in 2002 (69.5 percent) and was the lowest rate for any July since 1966. The over-the-year decrease in the youth labor force partici- pation rate may reflect, at least in part, the continuing weakness in the labor market in 2003. However, the participation rate for youth in July has been on the decline for a number of years, perhaps in response to in- creases in school enrollment during the summer. In July 2003, 25.5 per- cent of 16- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in school, up from 16.3 percent in July 1994, and participation rates for students are typically lower than for non-students. Only about half of the youth enrolled in school in July 2003 were in the labor force compared with almost three-fourths of those not in school. In July 2003, the labor force participation rate for young men, which has declined steadily since 1995, was at its lowest July point on record, 70.0 percent. The July 2003 participation rate for young women was 64.5 percent, the lowest it has been since 1975. While the participation rates for young whites (70.4 percent) decreased from a year earlier, the rate for young blacks remained about the same (56.8 percent). For young Asians and ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Changes in Youth Employment and Unemployment Data | | | | The estimates presented in this release incorporate the use of | | Census 2000-based population controls. Consequently, the estimates | | for the years 2000-02 appearing in this release may differ from those| | previously published, which were based on population controls derived| | from the 1990 census, and the estimates beginning in 2000 are not | | strictly comparable with those for earlier years. In addition, data | | for 2003 are not strictly comparable with data for 2002 and earlier | | years due to the introduction of revised population controls in | | January 2003. For further information, see the Technical Note. | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - 2 - young Hispanics, the labor force participation rates in July were 50.5 per- cent and 62.0 percent, respectively. (See table 2.) Employment There were 21.0 million 16- to 24-year-olds employed in July 2003. The employment-population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-year- old civilian noninstitutional population that were employed--was 58.3 per- cent, the lowest July ratio since 1964. The ratio decreased by 2.6 percent- age points over the year and has fallen by 6.5 percentage points since July 2000. In July 2003, the employment-population ratios for young men (60.1 per- cent), young women (56.6 percent), young whites (62.6 percent), and young blacks (41.7 percent) were all lower than a year earlier. In July 2003, 23 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and hospitality industry (including fast-food restaurants) and 19 percent worked in retail trade. Also, large percentages of employed youth worked in education and health services, professional and business services, con- struction, and government. (See table 3.) (Industries reflect the intro- duction of the 2002 Census industry classification system derived from the 2002 North American Industry Classification System.) Unemployment There were 3.2 million youth unemployed in July 2003; these youth were not working but were available to take a job and were actively looking for work. The youth unemployment rate was 13.3 percent, up from 12.4 percent in July 2002 and 9.6 percent in July 2000. In July 2003, the unemployment rates for young men (14.2 percent), young whites (11.1 percent), and young blacks (26.6 percent) were higher than in July 2002. The July 2003 jobless rates for young women (12.2 percent) and Hispanic youth (14.0 percent) showed little or no change from a year earlier. The unemployment rate in July 2003 for Asian youth was 13.2 percent. (See table 2.) Technical Note The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national sample survey of 60,000 households conducted month- ly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau. The data in this release relate to the employment status of youth (16- to 24-year- olds) during the months of April-July. This period was selected as being the most representative time frame in which to measure the full summertime tran- sition from school to work. July is the peak summer month of youth employment. The estimates presented in this release incorporate the use of Census 2000-based population controls. Sample results from the CPS are weighted up to independent estimates of the population by sex, age, race, and Hispanic/non-Hispanic origin. The weights, or population controls, are developed using counts of the civilian noninstitutional population derived from the decennial census and are updated using information from admini- strative records. Previously published estimates of employment and unem- ployment among youth for the years 2000-02 were based on population con- trols from the 1990 census. Consequently, the estimates for the years 2000-02 appearing in this release may differ from those previously pub- lished, and the estimates beginning in 2000 are not strictly comparable with estimates for earlier years. In addition, data for 2003 are not strictly comparable with data for 2002 and earlier years due to the intro- duction of revised population controls in January 2003. For a discussion of the introduction of the revised population controls and the impact their introduction had on CPS data, see "Revisions to the Current Population Survey Effective in January 2003" in the February 2003 issue of Employment and Earnings and available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.pdf on the BLS Web site. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339. Reliability Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies de- pending upon the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence. The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct infor- mation, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and infor- mation on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" section of Employment and Earnings. Definitions The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly below. Employed persons are (a) all those who, during the survey reference week, did any work at all as paid employees, worked in their own business, profession, or on their own farm, or who worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in a family-operated enterprise; and (b) all those who did not work but had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, child-care problems, labor disputes or per- sonal reasons, whether or not they were paid by their employers for the time off and whether or not they were seeking other jobs. Unemployed persons are all persons who had no employment during the ref- erence week, were available for work, except for temporary illness, and had made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Persons who were waiting to be recalled to a job from which they had been laid off need not have been looking for work to be classified as unemployed. Civilian labor force comprises all persons classified as employed or unemployed. Unemployment rate represents the number of unemployed persons as a percent of the civilian labor force. Not in the labor force includes all persons who are not classified as employed or unemployed. Industry and class of worker for the employed relate to the job held in the survey reference week. Persons with two or more jobs are classified in the job at which they worked the greatest number of hours. In terms of class-of-worker categories, wage and salary workers are those who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, or pay-in-kind from a private employer or from a government unit; self-employed persons are those who work for profit or fees in their own business, profession, or trade, or operate a farm; and unpaid family workers are persons working without pay for 15 hours a week or more in an enterprise operated by a member of their family. Industries reflect the introduction of the 2002 Census industry classifi- cation system derived from the 2002 North American Industry Classification System into the Current Population Survey. Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, April-July 2003 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) April-July changes Employment status, sex, race, and (1) Hispanic or Latino ethnicity April May June July Number Percent TOTAL Civilian noninstitutional population................... 35,815 35,847 35,880 35,905 91 0.3 Civilian labor force................................. 21,445 21,870 23,975 24,150 2,705 12.6 Participation rate............................. 59.9 61.0 66.8 67.3 7.4 12.3 Employed........................................... 18,873 19,032 20,432 20,950 2,077 11.0 Employment-population ratio ................... 52.7 53.1 56.9 58.3 5.7 10.7 Unemployed......................................... 2,572 2,838 3,542 3,200 628 24.4 Looking for full-time work..................... 1,749 2,148 2,671 2,448 699 40.0 Looking for part-time work..................... 824 690 871 753 -71 -8.6 Unemployment rate.............................. 12.0 13.0 14.8 13.3 1.3 10.5 Not in labor force................................... 14,370 13,976 11,905 11,755 -2,615 -18.2 Men Civilian noninstitutional population................... 18,004 18,019 18,035 18,042 39 .2 Civilian labor force................................. 11,124 11,384 12,487 12,635 1,511 13.6 Participation rate............................. 61.8 63.2 69.2 70.0 8.2 13.3 Employed........................................... 9,668 9,813 10,594 10,838 1,170 12.1 Employment-population ratio ................... 53.7 54.5 58.7 60.1 6.4 11.9 Unemployed......................................... 1,455 1,572 1,893 1,796 341 23.4 Looking for full-time work..................... 1,017 1,236 1,473 1,416 398 39.2 Looking for part-time work..................... 438 335 420 381 -57 -13.1 Unemployment rate.............................. 13.1 13.8 15.2 14.2 1.1 8.7 Not in labor force................................... 6,880 6,634 5,548 5,407 -1,473 -21.4 Women Civilian noninstitutional population................... 17,811 17,828 17,845 17,863 52 .3 Civilian labor force................................. 10,321 10,486 11,488 11,516 1,194 11.6 Participation rate............................. 57.9 58.8 64.4 64.5 6.5 11.2 Employed........................................... 9,204 9,219 9,838 10,112 907 9.9 Employment-population ratio ................... 51.7 51.7 55.1 56.6 4.9 9.5 Unemployed......................................... 1,117 1,267 1,650 1,404 287 25.7 Looking for full-time work..................... 731 912 1,198 1,032 301 41.1 Looking for part-time work..................... 386 355 451 372 -14 -3.5 Unemployment rate.............................. 10.8 12.1 14.4 12.2 1.4 12.7 Not in labor force................................... 7,490 7,342 6,357 6,348 -1,142 -15.2 White (2) Civilian noninstitutional population................... 28,008 28,029 28,051 28,066 58 .2 Civilian labor force................................. 17,504 17,797 19,503 19,749 2,245 12.8 Participation rate............................. 62.5 63.5 69.5 70.4 7.9 12.6 Employed........................................... 15,706 15,807 17,084 17,566 1,861 11.8 Employment-population ratio ................... 56.1 56.4 60.9 62.6 6.5 11.6 Unemployed......................................... 1,798 1,990 2,418 2,182 384 21.4 Looking for full-time work..................... 1,133 1,466 1,779 1,611 478 42.2 Looking for part-time work..................... 665 524 639 571 -94 -14.1 Unemployment rate.............................. 10.3 11.2 12.4 11.1 .8 7.6 Not in labor force................................... 10,504 10,232 8,548 8,317 -2,187 -20.8 Black or African American (2) Civilian noninstitutional population................... 5,137 5,145 5,152 5,159 22 .4 Civilian labor force................................. 2,612 2,679 2,921 2,930 318 12.2 Participation rate............................. 50.8 52.1 56.7 56.8 5.9 11.7 Employed........................................... 2,018 2,029 2,086 2,150 131 6.5 Employment-population ratio ................... 39.3 39.4 40.5 41.7 2.4 6.1 Unemployed......................................... 593 650 835 780 187 31.4 Looking for full-time work..................... 491 535 683 655 164 33.5 Looking for part-time work..................... 103 115 153 125 22 21.8 Unemployment rate.............................. 22.7 24.3 28.6 26.6 3.9 17.2 Not in labor force................................... 2,525 2,466 2,231 2,229 -296 -11.7 Asian (2) Civilian noninstitutional population................... 1,441 1,456 1,460 1,464 23 1.6 Civilian labor force................................. 640 704 787 740 99 15.5 Participation rate............................. 44.4 48.3 53.9 50.5 6.1 13.7 Employed........................................... 580 620 648 642 61 10.6 Employment-population ratio ................... 40.3 42.6 44.4 43.8 3.5 8.8 Unemployed......................................... 60 84 139 98 38 63.6 Looking for full-time work..................... 39 52 104 63 24 61.1 Looking for part-time work..................... 20 32 35 34 14 68.5 Unemployment rate.............................. 9.3 11.9 17.7 13.2 3.9 41.7 Not in labor force................................... 801 752 673 724 -76 -9.5 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Civilian noninstitutional population................... 6,055 6,063 6,071 6,079 24 .4 Civilian labor force................................. 3,623 3,627 3,792 3,772 149 4.1 Participation rate............................. 59.8 59.8 62.5 62.0 2.2 3.7 Employed........................................... 3,197 3,168 3,203 3,244 47 1.5 Employment-population ratio ................... 52.8 52.2 52.8 53.4 .6 1.1 Unemployed......................................... 425 459 589 528 102 24.1 Looking for full-time work..................... 314 397 429 406 92 29.4 Looking for part-time work..................... 111 62 160 121 10 9.0 Unemployment rate.............................. 11.7 12.7 15.5 14.0 2.2 19.2 Not in labor force................................... 2,432 2,436 2,279 2,307 -125 -5.2 1 Changes are calculated using unrounded data. 2 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group were included in the group they identified as the main race. NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data reflect Census 2000-based population controls. Data also reflect revised population controls introduced in January 2003. Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2000-03 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Employment status, sex, race, and 2000 2001 2002 2003 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity TOTAL Civilian noninstitutional population................... 34,214 34,846 35,322 35,905 Civilian labor force................................. 24,514 24,627 24,536 24,150 Participation rate............................. 71.6 70.7 69.5 67.3 Employed........................................... 22,156 22,042 21,501 20,950 Employment-population ratio ................... 64.8 63.3 60.9 58.3 Unemployed......................................... 2,358 2,585 3,034 3,200 Looking for full-time work..................... 1,732 1,898 2,250 2,448 Looking for part-time work..................... 626 687 785 753 Unemployment rate.............................. 9.6 10.5 12.4 13.3 Not in labor force................................... 9,700 10,219 10,786 11,755 Men Civilian noninstitutional population................... 17,175 17,468 17,758 18,042 Civilian labor force................................. 12,910 12,950 12,837 12,635 Participation rate............................. 75.2 74.1 72.3 70.0 Employed........................................... 11,657 11,576 11,231 10,838 Employment-population ratio ................... 67.9 66.3 63.2 60.1 Unemployed......................................... 1,253 1,374 1,606 1,796 Looking for full-time work..................... 986 1,051 1,172 1,416 Looking for part-time work..................... 267 322 434 381 Unemployment rate.............................. 9.7 10.6 12.5 14.2 Not in labor force................................... 4,265 4,518 4,921 5,407 Women Civilian noninstitutional population................... 17,039 17,378 17,563 17,863 Civilian labor force................................. 11,604 11,677 11,699 11,516 Participation rate............................. 68.1 67.2 66.6 64.5 Employed........................................... 10,498 10,466 10,271 10,112 Employment-population ratio ................... 61.6 60.2 58.5 56.6 Unemployed......................................... 1,105 1,211 1,428 1,404 Looking for full-time work..................... 746 846 1,077 1,032 Looking for part-time work..................... 359 364 351 372 Unemployment rate.............................. 9.5 10.4 12.2 12.2 Not in labor force................................... 5,436 5,701 5,865 6,348 White (1) Civilian noninstitutional population................... 27,146 27,570 27,959 28,066 Civilian labor force................................. 20,248 20,324 20,262 19,749 Participation rate............................. 74.6 73.7 72.5 70.4 Employed........................................... 18,648 18,508 18,092 17,566 Employment-population ratio ................... 68.7 67.1 64.7 62.6 Unemployed......................................... 1,600 1,816 2,169 2,182 Looking for full-time work..................... 1,145 1,323 1,566 1,611 Looking for part-time work..................... 455 494 604 571 Unemployment rate.............................. 7.9 8.9 10.7 11.1 Not in labor force................................... 6,897 7,246 7,697 8,317 Black or African American (1) Civilian noninstitutional population................... 4,960 5,078 5,199 5,159 Civilian labor force................................. 3,080 3,074 2,989 2,930 Participation rate............................. 62.1 60.5 57.5 56.8 Employed........................................... 2,462 2,464 2,319 2,150 Employment-population ratio ................... 49.6 48.5 44.6 41.7 Unemployed......................................... 618 610 670 780 Looking for full-time work..................... 494 460 549 655 Looking for part-time work..................... 123 150 121 125 Unemployment rate.............................. 20.1 19.8 22.4 26.6 Not in labor force................................... 1,880 2,004 2,211 2,229 Asian (1) Civilian noninstitutional population................... 1,734 1,767 1,724 1,464 Civilian labor force................................. 938 949 966 740 Participation rate............................. 54.1 53.7 56.0 50.5 Employed........................................... 832 842 815 642 Employment-population ratio ................... 48.0 47.7 47.3 43.8 Unemployed......................................... 106 107 151 98 Looking for full-time work..................... 66 75 97 63 Looking for part-time work..................... 40 32 54 34 Unemployment rate.............................. 11.3 11.2 15.6 13.2 Not in labor force................................... 795 818 758 724 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Civilian noninstitutional population................... 5,838 5,957 6,004 6,079 Civilian labor force................................. 3,839 3,908 3,900 3,772 Participation rate............................. 65.8 65.6 65.0 62.0 Employed........................................... 3,389 3,434 3,390 3,244 Employment-population ratio ................... 58.1 57.7 56.5 53.4 Unemployed......................................... 450 474 510 528 Looking for full-time work..................... 342 381 419 406 Looking for part-time work..................... 108 93 91 121 Unemployment rate.............................. 11.7 12.1 13.1 14.0 Not in labor force................................... 1,999 2,049 2,104 2,307 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group were included in the group they identified as the main race. NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data for 2000-02 have been revised to reflect Census 2000-based population controls. Data for 2003 also reflect an additional upward adjustment to the population controls used in the household survey. Table 3. Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2002-03 (In thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Black Hispanic Total White (1) or Asian (1) or African Latino Industry and class of worker American (1) ethnicity 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 Total employed............ 21,501 20,950 18,092 17,566 2,319 2,150 815 642 3,390 3,244 Agriculture and related industries..................... 387 352 356 341 4 4 4 1 133 87 Nonagricultural industries...... 21,115 20,599 17,736 17,225 2,315 2,146 811 640 3,257 3,157 Private wage and salary workers...................... 19,019 18,773 16,077 15,771 2,024 1,893 711 585 3,003 2,958 Mining...................... 24 45 24 43 - - - - - 3 Construction................ 1,322 1,442 1,217 1,343 85 55 11 8 317 370 Manufacturing............... 1,476 1,318 1,269 1,119 146 132 44 26 381 288 Durable goods............. 869 762 758 674 89 57 13 12 170 111 Nondurable goods.......... 608 557 511 444 57 75 32 14 211 177 Wholesale trade............. 482 476 419 402 48 46 13 15 105 74 Retail trade................ 4,220 3,944 3,561 3,210 441 448 173 171 561 494 Transportation and utilities 528 465 403 354 99 100 20 3 77 56 Information................. 491 438 405 352 51 51 27 15 61 63 Financial activities........ 1,103 1,130 916 909 117 109 60 79 125 153 Professional and business services................... 1,800 1,653 1,473 1,389 214 178 82 44 317 310 Education and health services................... 1,928 2,127 1,545 1,722 282 268 91 67 246 275 Leisure and hospitality..... 4,662 4,727 3,998 4,053 462 418 153 132 669 745 Other services.............. 983 1,009 848 874 79 89 36 26 144 128 Government.................... 1,617 1,439 1,237 1,134 252 218 91 39 192 148 Federal..................... 219 159 146 93 59 53 10 10 32 16 State....................... 444 412 325 306 62 65 39 20 63 46 Local....................... 953 867 766 735 130 99 42 9 97 86 Self-employed and unpaid family workers............... 479 386 422 321 40 35 9 16 63 51 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group were included in the group they identified as the main race. - Dash represents zero. NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Industries reflect the introduction of the 2002 Census industry classification system derived from the 2002 North American Industry Classification System into the Current Population Survey. Data reflect Census 2000- based population controls. Data for 2003 also reflect an additional upward adjustment to the population controls used in the house- hold survey.