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60.2 percent of youth participated in the labor force in July 2023
August 29, 2023
The summer labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-olds was 60.2 percent in July 2023, little different from a year earlier (60.4 percent). After peaking at 77.5 percent in July 1989, the rate trended downward then ranged between 60.0 to 60.6 percent during 2012 to 2018. The rate increased to 61.8 percent in July 2019, but dropped to 57.3 percent following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Labor force participation rates of 16- to 24-year-olds in July, 1948–2023, not seasonally adjusted
Year
Total
Men
Women
July 1948
66.2
85.8
48.0
July 1949
66.2
85.8
48.2
July 1950
64.9
86.0
45.1
July 1951
65.8
85.8
49.5
July 1952
63.7
85.2
47.1
July 1953
62.2
82.8
46.7
July 1954
61.7
82.5
45.5
July 1955
62.8
83.2
46.5
July 1956
66.0
85.8
49.7
July 1957
66.0
86.1
49.2
July 1958
64.0
83.5
47.4
July 1959
63.1
82.9
45.8
July 1960
64.7
83.0
48.4
July 1961
64.1
81.5
48.4
July 1962
64.3
81.9
48.8
July 1963
63.6
81.1
48.1
July 1964
63.2
81.2
47.1
July 1965
65.3
83.2
49.2
July 1966
66.7
83.1
52.2
July 1967
67.7
83.8
53.8
July 1968
67.8
82.6
55.1
July 1969
68.6
82.5
56.6
July 1970
68.7
82.2
56.8
July 1971
68.9
81.8
57.1
July 1972
70.2
82.3
58.9
July 1973
71.9
84.2
60.3
July 1974
73.2
84.3
62.6
July 1975
73.0
83.5
63.1
July 1976
74.1
83.8
64.9
July 1977
74.7
84.5
65.2
July 1978
76.5
85.0
68.4
July 1979
76.6
85.0
68.4
July 1980
76.3
84.4
68.5
July 1981
75.3
82.7
68.0
July 1982
74.7
81.2
68.5
July 1983
75.6
83.0
68.4
July 1984
76.3
82.5
70.3
July 1985
76.5
82.8
70.3
July 1986
76.7
82.9
70.6
July 1987
76.3
81.4
71.3
July 1988
76.9
82.5
71.4
July 1989
77.5
82.8
72.4
July 1990
75.1
80.8
69.5
July 1991
73.6
79.6
67.6
July 1992
74.6
79.8
69.5
July 1993
74.5
79.5
69.5
July 1994
74.1
78.8
69.4
July 1995
74.3
79.3
69.3
July 1996
73.3
78.3
68.3
July 1997
73.0
76.5
69.4
July 1998
72.8
76.3
69.3
July 1999
72.6
76.0
69.1
July 2000
71.6
75.2
68.1
July 2001
70.7
74.1
67.2
July 2002
69.5
72.3
66.6
July 2003
67.3
70.0
64.5
July 2004
67.2
70.4
63.9
July 2005
66.6
69.6
63.6
July 2006
66.7
69.7
63.6
July 2007
65.0
67.9
62.1
July 2008
65.1
68.1
62.1
July 2009
63.0
64.9
61.1
July 2010
60.5
62.7
58.1
July 2011
59.5
61.4
57.6
July 2012
60.5
63.2
57.8
July 2013
60.5
62.7
58.2
July 2014
60.5
63.2
57.8
July 2015
60.0
61.8
58.2
July 2016
60.1
62.4
57.7
July 2017
60.6
62.3
58.8
July 2018
60.6
61.1
60.0
July 2019
61.8
63.2
60.4
July 2020
57.3
58.4
56.2
July 2021
60.5
61.8
59.1
July 2022
60.4
61.7
59.2
July 2023
60.2
60.4
60.0
The labor force participation rate for young men declined to 60.4 percent in July 2023, while the rate for young women was little different from a year earlier, at 60.0 percent. This narrowed the gap to 0.4 percentage point in the summer of 2023, the smallest difference since the series began. The gap between the rates for young men and young women was at its widest at 40.9 percentage points in July 1950.
Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age, by industry, July 2023
Industry
Employed persons, 16 to 24 years of age
Leisure and hospitality
5,344,000
Retail trade
3,800,000
Education and health services
2,712,000
Professional and business services
1,835,000
Manufacturing
1,465,000
Construction
1,329,000
Other services
1,047,000
Transportation and utilities
840,000
Local government
697,000
Financial activities
649,000
State government
441,000
Self-employed, unincorporated, and unpaid family workers
428,000
Agriculture and related industries
345,000
Wholesale trade
250,000
Federal government
205,000
Information
189,000
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
47,000
The leisure and hospitality industry had 5.3 million young workers in July 2023, and employed the largest share of workers ages 16- to 24-years old (25 percent). Retail trade employed the second most young workers at 18 percent of youth employment, and 13 percent were employed in education and health services.
The labor force participation rate is the labor force (those employed, on temporary layoff, or looking and available for work) as a percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population. These data are from the Current Population Surveyand not seasonally adjusted. For more information, see “Employment and Unemployment among Youth — Summer 2023”.
United States Department of Labor
