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55.0 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds employed in July 2018

August 21, 2018

Youth employment grows sharply between April and July each year. During these months, many high school and college students search for or take summer jobs, and many graduates enter the labor market for permanent employment. There were 20.9 million employed 16- to 24-year-olds in July 2018, about the same number as the summer before. Between April and July 2018, the number of employed youth rose by 2.0 million, in line with the change between April and July 2017. The employment–population ratio for youth—the proportion of the 16- to 24-year-old civilian noninstitutional population with a job—was 55.0 percent in July 2018, little changed from the prior year.

Employment–population ratios of 16- to 24-year-olds in July, 2003–18, not seasonally adjusted
Year Total Men Women White Black or
African American
Asian Hispanic
or Latino

2003

58.3% 60.1% 56.6% 62.6% 41.7% 43.8% 53.4%

2004

58.9 62.0 55.8 62.8 42.4 47.8 54.6

2005

59.3 61.6 57.0 62.8 44.7 46.7 54.1

2006

59.2 61.9 56.5 63.3 43.5 42.8 55.2

2007

58.0 60.3 55.6 61.7 43.0 45.6 52.5

2008

56.0 57.9 54.2 59.7 41.2 46.4 50.5

2009

51.4 52.2 50.5 55.2 36.4 41.3 46.5

2010

48.9 49.9 48.0 53.0 34.4 37.9 43.6

2011

48.8 50.2 47.3 52.3 34.6 40.5 42.9

2012

50.2 51.9 48.4 53.5 38.9 37.4 46.5

2013

50.7 51.7 49.6 54.3 38.6 39.2 47.4

2014

51.9 53.6 50.1 55.4 39.8 40.8 47.0

2015

52.7 53.9 51.4 55.8 44.7 39.8 49.1

2016

53.2 54.9 51.5 56.5 42.7 38.8 49.8

2017

54.8 56.1 53.4 57.2 46.9 42.7 50.9

2018

55.0 55.2 54.8 58.0 47.2 39.7 51.7

Employment–population ratios in July 2018 were higher than a year earlier for young women (54.8 percent), Whites (58.0 percent), and Hispanics (51.7 percent). The ratios declined for young men (55.2 percent) and Asians (39.7 percent). The ratio for Blacks, at 47.2 percent in July, was about the same as the summer before.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see “Employment and Unemployment among Youth — Summer 2018.” People whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 55.0 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds employed in July 2018 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/55-percent-of-16-to-24-year-olds-employed-in-july-2018.htm (visited April 29, 2024).

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