Technical information: (202) 691-7410 USDL 03-40 http://www.bls.gov/nls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, January 31, 2003 EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE OF YOUTHS DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR AND SUMMER Most teenage students who worked during the summer also worked during the school year. Sixty percent of students who were age 16 at the be- ginning of the 1999-2000 school year worked at an employee job both dur- ing the school year and during the following summer, as did 68 percent of students age 17 and 77 percent of students age 18. These findings are from the first four annual survey rounds of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The respondents are a nationally representative sample of about 9,000 young men and women who were born during the years 1980 to 1984. These respondents were ages 12 to 17 when first interviewed in 1997 and ages 15 to 21 when interviewed for a fourth time in 2000-01. The survey provides information on the employment experiences, schooling, family background, social behavior, and other characteristics of these youths. Data from the survey are used to classify jobs into one of two cate- gories: "employee" jobs, also known as wage and salary jobs, in which youths have an ongoing formal relationship with a particular employer, such as a restaurant or supermarket; and "freelance" or self-employed jobs, in which youths perform one or a few tasks, such as babysitting or lawn care, for several people but have no formal job arrangement with any single "boss." Highlights from the survey include: --The percent of students employed in employee jobs during any week of the 1999-2000 school year and the following summer remained fairly stable from September to February and then increased during the spring. The percent rose sharply in early summer and then peaked during July. --The top five occupations differed greatly between the sexes but changed only slightly from school months to summer months. Occupations also changed among age groups. For example, while 14 percent of employed male youths age 16 on Sept. 1, 1999, were cooks, only 6 percent of male youths age 18 were cooks. --Male and female youths were equally likely to hold an employee job while age 16, 17, or 18. At the same time, female youths were more likely to hold freelance or self-employed jobs at these ages. --Youths were more likely to work as they got older. Sixty percent of youths who did not work while age 15 worked at some point while age 16. Sixty-eight percent of youths who did not work while age 17 worked at some point while age 18. - 2 - Youths in Employee Jobs During the 1999-2000 School Year and the Following Summer Working while enrolled in school was common among high school students during the 1999-2000 school year. Moreover, the percent of enrolled youths who worked at an employee job at some point during the school year was substantially higher at each successive age. (See table 1.) Sixty-eight percent of youths who were age 16 at the beginning of the school year worked in an employee job at some point during the school year, compared with 79 percent of those who were age 17 and 85 percent of those who were age 18. Only a small percentage of youths worked exclusively during the summer. While 60 percent of youths who were age 16 at the beginning of the school year worked during both the summer and the school year, only 10 percent worked during the summer only. For those age 18 at the beginning of the school year, only 5 percent worked during the summer only. A different measure of youth employment during the 1999-2000 school year and the following summer is the percent of enrolled youths working each week. For 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds, the incidence of employment by week remained relatively stable between September and February, increased in the spring, and accelerated in early summer to a peak in mid-summer. The percent employed dropped sharply at the end of the summer, especially for 17- and 18-year-olds. Over 40 percent of youths who were age 16 at the start of the 1999- 2000 school year worked during any given week in the fall, as did about 53 percent of youths who were age 17. About 55 percent of enrolled youths who were age 18 at the beginning of the school year worked during any given school week in the fall. During the employment peak in mid-summer, the difference in the proportions of 16- and 17-year-olds who were employed narrowed, while the difference in these proportions for 17- and 18-year olds widened. Top Five Occupations of Youths Cook was the most common occupation during both the school year and the following summer for male youths who were age 16 at the start of the 1999- 2000 school year, comprising 14 percent of their total employment. Among male youths who were age 18 at the start of the school year, cook still was the most common occupation during the school year, although it comprised only 6 percent of their total employment. Among male youths who were age 18 at the start of the school year, construction laborer was the second most common occupation during the school year and the most common summer occupation. (See table 2.) Cashier was the most common occupation for female youths who were age 16 at the start of the 1999-2000 school year, comprising 20 percent of their total employment during the school year. In fact, cashier was al- ways the most common occupation for female youths ages 16, 17, or 18, school year or summer. Waitresses, food counter occupations, and sales workers (other commodities) always appeared in the top five among female youths. The occupations held by older youths were more diversified. While nearly half of all enrolled and employed 16-year-old youths worked in the top five occupations during the school year, only 23 percent of male youths and 40 percent of female youths were employed in these occupations during the school year when age 18. The occupational mix of female teens who worked and were enrolled in school changed less with age than did the occupational mix for male teens. - 3 - Work Activity of Youths While Ages 15, 16, 17, and 18 Youths are more likely to work as they get older. Sixty-nine percent of youths worked in some capacity while age 15. Ninety-one percent of youths worked in some capacity while age 18. (See table 3.) Youths at older ages worked in formal work arrangements more often than in freelance jobs or self-employment. The percent of youths who worked at freelance jobs while age 18 was less than half that of youths age 15. Male and female youths were equally likely to have been employed while age 16 or older. By age 18, almost 90 percent of both male and female youths held employee jobs. However, female youths remained less likely than their male counterparts to hold only employee jobs and more likely to hold only freelance jobs or to combine freelance and employee jobs. Older youths were not only more likely to work in employee jobs, but they also worked more weeks per year. Youths 17 and 18 years old worked a similar number of weeks in employee jobs, an average of 34 weeks, compared with an average of 24 weeks for employed 15-year-olds and 28 weeks for employed 16-year-olds. (See table 4.) Differences in employment are apparent by race and Hispanic ethnicity. Among 16-year-olds, 75 percent of non-Hispanic whites held an employee job, compared with 55 percent of non-Hispanic blacks and 59 percent of Hispanics. Regardless of race or Hispanic ethnicity, the percent of youths who worked at an employee job was substantially higher at age 18 than at age 16. How- ever, at all ages, the percent of non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics who worked at employee jobs remained well below that of their non-Hispanic white counterparts. When employed, non-Hispanic black youths and Hispanic youths worked fewer weeks than did non-Hispanic white youths. For example, among those age 18, employed non-Hispanic white youths averaged 36 weeks of work per year, non-Hispanic black youths averaged 30 weeks of work, and Hispanic youths averaged 34 weeks of work. (See tables 3 and 4.) Employment at Successive Ages Once youths enter the labor market, they are likely to continue working at successive ages. Ninety-two percent of youths who engaged in work ac- tivities while age 15 continued to work while age 16, 93 percent of youths who worked while age 16 continued to work while age 17, and 95 percent who worked while age 17 continued to work while age 18. (See tables 5, 6, and 7.) While 41 percent of youths who did not engage in work activities while age 15 also did not work while age 16, only 32 percent of those who did not work while age 17 did not work while age 18. As youths grew older, the pathway to employment rarely included a free- lance job. Among those youths who were not employed while age 15, only 12 percent worked exclusively at freelance jobs or combined freelance work with employee jobs while age 16. Among youths who did not work while age 17, 63 percent entered the labor market directly into employee jobs exclusively when they reached age 18. While age 18, the likelihood of entering the work- force exclusively into employee jobs was more than 10 times the likelihood of entering the workforce exclusively into freelance jobs or combining freelance and employee jobs. _____________________________ A Portable Document Format (PDF) version of this news release is available at http://www.bls.gov/nls/ online. - 4 - Technical Note The estimates in this release were obtained using data from the first four rounds of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97). The NLSY97 is the newest survey in the National Longitudinal Surveys program. The NLSY97 collects extensive information on youths' labor market behavior and educational experiences. Information about respon- dents' families and communities also is obtained in the survey. This survey is conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and the Center for Human Resource Research at The Ohio State University, under the direction and sponsorship of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Partial funding support for the survey has been provided by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education of the U.S Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Sample The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 is a nationally representative sample of 8,984 young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. This sample is composed of two subsamples: --A cross-sectional sample designed to represent the noninsti- tutionalized, civilian segment of young people living in the U.S. in 1997 and born between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1984; --A supplemental sample of youths designed to oversample Hispanic and black youths living in the U.S. in 1997 and born between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1984. The fourth round of annual interviews took place between November 1, 2000, and May 1, 2001, and all results are weighted using the fourth-round survey weights that correct for oversampling and nonresponse. When weighted, the data represent all Americans living in the U.S. in 1997 and born in the years 1980 to 1984. Not represented by the survey are U.S. immigrants who were born from 1980 to 1984 and moved to the United States after 1997. Sample size varies both between and within tables. For example, in table 3, to be included in the section "While age 16," which refers to the entire year between an individual's 16th and 17th birthdays, a youth need only to have reached his or her 17th birthday. To be included in the similar category in table 6, which relates employment status while age 16 with employ- ment status while age 17, a youth must have reached his or her 18th birthday. Interaction between time and age in a longitudinal survey Because the NLSY97 is a longitudinal survey, meaning the same people are surveyed over time, the ages of the respondents change with each survey round. It is important to keep in mind this inherent link between the calen- dar years and the ages of the respondents. For example, tables 5, 6, and 7 report employment by age for the ages of 16, 17, and 18, contingent on the previous age's employment. The youngest respondents in the sample (birth year 1984) were these ages during 2000-03, whereas the oldest respondents (birth year 1980) were these ages from 1996-99. Some respondents may not be used in all tables as they are not old enough. - 5 - Definitions Freelance or self-employed job. A freelance job involves doing one or a few tasks without a specific "boss," like babysitting or mowing lawns or working for oneself. In survey rounds 1-3, respondents ages 14 and older at the time of the survey (all respondents beginning in round 3) were ques- tioned on the freelance jobs they held since their 14th birthday. Beginning in survey round 4, respondents aged 18 or older were routed through a new employment section where they could specify employee or self-employed jobs. Prior to round 4, all self-employment questions were included with freelance jobs. Employee job. An employee job is one in which the youth has an ongoing relationship with a particular employer, such as working in a supermarket or restaurant. The respondent is read the following introduction prior to survey questions about freelance and employee jobs: "We are going to discuss two sorts of jobs with you. We'll call one type working as a freelancer or being self-employed: that is, working one or a few tasks for several people and not having a 'boss' (for example, babysitting or mowing lawns) or working for yourself (for example, running a business)." "We'll refer to the second type as working as an employee: that is, you had an ongoing relationship with a particular employer (for example, working in a supermarket or restaurant or being in the military)." Age categories. "While age x" refers to the entire year between birthday "x" and the following birthday. The estimates shown in this release for each age category exclude respondents who had not yet reached their next birthday at the time of the interview--and thus were not able to provide a full year's worth of information for that age. For example, "While age 16" refers to the entire year between an individual’s 16th and 17th birthdays. The category excludes individuals who had not yet turned age 17 at the time of the inter- view. 1999-2000 School year and following summer. The school term is defined as the period from September 1999 through May 2000. The summer is composed of June, July, and August of 2000. Enrolled. Individuals were not considered enrolled if they were not enrolled for a period of two or more consecutive months during the school year. Race and ethnic groups. The findings are reported for non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Hispanics. These groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically re- liable estimates. In other BLS publications, estimates are published for whites, blacks, and Hispanics, but these groups usually are not mutually exclusive. The term "Hispanic" is considered to be an ethnic group, and Hispanics can be of any race. Most other BLS publications include esti- mates for Hispanics in the white and black race groups in addition to the Hispanic ethnic group. 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. Table 1. Percent of enrolled youths with an employee job during the 1999-2000 school year and the following summer by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, grade in school, and timing of employment Percent of Percent who worked during the school year students who Percent who Age as of September 1, 1999, ever worked Worked during Worked during worked during and characteristic during the Total school year school year summer only school year or and summer only following summer Total, age 16........... 78.2 68.2 59.5 8.7 10.0 Male youths.................. 79.9 69.5 60.3 9.2 10.4 Female youths................ 76.3 66.7 59.6 8.1 9.5 White non-Hispanic........... 84.2 73.8 66.7 7.1 10.4 Black non-Hispanic........... 67.7 58.8 47.9 10.9 8.9 Hispanic origin ............. 64.6 55.9 43.2 12.7 8.7 Grade 10..................... 75.6 60.8 50.4 10.4 14.8 Grade 11..................... 80.9 72.1 65.3 6.8 8.8 Total, age 17........... 86.9 78.9 68.2 10.6 8.1 Male youths.................. 86.8 78.3 69.1 9.3 8.5 Female youths................ 87.1 79.5 67.3 12.1 7.6 White non-Hispanic........... 90.9 84.0 75.2 8.9 6.9 Black non-Hispanic........... 75.4 65.0 50.0 15.0 10.4 Hispanic origin ............. 81.7 71.1 55.8 15.3 10.6 Grade 11..................... 84.0 76.5 65.5 11.0 7.6 Grade 12..................... 89.6 81.1 72.0 9.1 8.5 Total, age 18........... 89.6 84.8 76.6 8.2 4.8 Male youths.................. 88.1 83.5 75.5 8.0 4.6 Female youths................ 91.2 86.1 77.8 8.4 5.1 White non-Hispanic........... 91.5 87.8 81.3 6.5 3.7 Black non-Hispanic........... 80.6 71.9 59.6 12.3 8.7 Hispanic origin ............. 89.4 84.8 71.9 12.9 4.6 Grade 12..................... 87.5 82.0 74.0 8.1 5.5 Freshman in college.......... 93.4 86.7 80.7 6.0 6.6 NOTE: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic-origin groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. The school year is defined as September 1999 through May 2000, excluding the last full week of December 1999 and the first week of January 2000. Summer is defined as June, July, and August of 2000. Table 2. Top five occupations of enrolled youths with an employee job during the 1999-2000 school year and the following summer by sex and age Sex, age as of September 1, 1999, Percent of and occupation employed Male youths - Age 16 School year, total, top five occupations ................. 47.5 Cooks .................................................. 13.8 Stock handlers and baggers ............................. 10.6 Miscellaneous food preparation occupations ............. 8.3 Cashiers ............................................... 8.0 Food counter, fountain, and related occupations ........ 6.8 Summer, total, top five occupations ...................... 37.3 Cooks .................................................. 12.0 Stock handlers and baggers ............................. 8.6 Cashiers ............................................... 7.5 Miscellaneous food preparation occupations ............. 4.7 Janitors and cleaners .................................. 4.5 Female youths - Age 16 School year, total, top five occupations .................. 49.7 Cashier.................................................. 20.1 Food counter, fountain, and related occupations ......... 14.1 Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 5.9 Waiters and waitresses .................................. 4.9 Supervisors, food preparation and service occupations. .. 4.7 Summer, total, top five occupations ....................... 45.9 Cashier ................................................. 21.0 Food counter, fountain, and related occupations ......... 7.8 Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 7.0 Waiters and waitresses .................................. 6.4 Waiters' and waitresses' assistants ..................... 3.7 Male youths - Age 17 School year, total, top five occupations .................. 36.4 Stock handlers and baggers .............................. 9.6 Cooks ................................................... 9.0 Cashiers ................................................ 7.5 Miscellaneous food preparation occupations .............. 5.8 Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 4.5 Summer, total, top five occupations ....................... 29.3 Cooks ................................................... 8.6 Stock handlers and baggers .............................. 6.0 Cashiers ................................................ 5.2 Miscellaneous food preparation occupations .............. 4.8 Construction laborers ................................... 4.7 Female youths - Age 17 School year, total, top five occupations .................. 45.2 Cashiers................................................. 17.4 Food counter, fountain, and related occupations ......... 10.4 Waiters and waitresses .................................. 7.3 Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 5.9 General office clerks ................................... 4.2 Summer, total, top five occupations ....................... 38.3 Cashiers ................................................ 15.8 Waiters and waitresses .................................. 8.2 Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 7.3 Food counter, fountain, and related occupations ......... 3.9 Attendants, amusement and recreation facilities ......... 3.1 Male youths - Age 18 School year, total, top five occupations .................. 23.0 Cooks ................................................... 6.2 Construction laborers ................................... 4.7 Cashiers ................................................ 4.3 Stock handlers and baggers .............................. 4.2 Freight, stock, and material handlers, not elsewhere classified.............................................. 3.6 Summer, total, top five occupations ....................... 20.4 Construction laborers ................................... 5.2 Freight, stock, and material handlers, not elsewhere classified.............................................. 4.1 Cooks ................................................... 4.0 Groundskeepers and gardeners, except farm ............... 3.9 Cashiers ................................................ 3.2 Female youths - Age 18 School year, total, top five occupations .................. 40.1 Cashiers ................................................ 14.8 Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 7.6 Food counter, fountain, and related occupations ......... 7.3 Waiters and waitresses .................................. 6.1 General office clerks ................................... 4.3 Summer, total, top five occupations ....................... 32.7 Cashiers ................................................ 12.7 Sales workers, other commodities ........................ 6.2 Waiters and waitresses .................................. 6.2 Receptionists ........................................... 4.0 Food counter, fountain, and related occupations ......... 3.6 NOTE: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic-origin groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. The school year is defined as September 1999 through May 2000, excluding the last full week of December 1999 and the first week of January 2000. Summer is defined as June, July, and August of 2000. Table 3. Percent of youths employed while ages 15 to 18 in 1995-2001 by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, and type of job Percent employed in: Age in 1995-2001 Both and characteristic Employee Any Any Employee Freelance and Any employee freelance jobs jobs freelance job job job only only jobs Total, while age 15 ..... 69.2 40.2 46.4 22.7 28.9 17.5 Male youths.................... 67.6 43.8 39.5 28.1 23.9 15.7 Female youths.................. 70.8 36.5 53.7 17.1 34.3 19.4 White non-Hispanic............. 76.5 45.3 52.6 23.9 31.2 21.4 Black non-Hispanic............. 53.8 29.7 34.5 19.4 24.1 10.4 Hispanic origin ............... 53.0 28.4 33.4 19.6 24.6 8.7 Total, while age 16 ..... 81.8 69.1 37.6 44.2 12.7 24.9 Male youths.................... 81.3 70.0 31.4 50.0 11.3 20.1 Female youths.................. 82.4 68.1 44.2 38.2 14.2 30.0 White non-Hispanic............. 88.1 75.4 42.4 45.7 12.7 29.6 Black non-Hispanic............. 67.0 54.8 26.7 40.3 12.2 14.6 Hispanic origin ............... 70.8 58.6 28.9 41.9 12.2 16.7 Total, while age 17 ..... 86.2 78.9 27.1 59.1 7.3 19.8 Male youths.................... 85.3 79.2 21.5 63.7 6.1 15.4 Female youths.................. 87.1 78.6 32.9 54.2 8.5 24.4 White non-Hispanic............. 90.8 83.8 30.4 60.4 7.0 23.4 Black non-Hispanic............. 74.7 66.3 19.7 55.0 8.4 11.3 Hispanic origin ............... 78.0 70.9 19.4 58.6 7.1 12.3 Total, while age 18 ..... 91.0 88.1 18.2 72.7 2.9 15.3 Male youths.................... 90.2 87.9 15.0 75.2 2.3 12.7 Female youths.................. 91.8 88.2 21.7 70.1 3.6 18.1 White non-Hispanic............. 93.9 91.3 20.5 73.4 2.6 17.9 Black non-Hispanic............. 81.1 76.6 14.6 66.5 4.5 10.1 Hispanic origin ............... 88.3 85.7 11.7 76.6 2.6 9.1 NOTE: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic-origin groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. Table 4. Percent of youths ages 15 to 18 in 1995-2001 with an employee job and average number of weeks worked, by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin Age in 1995-2001 Percent with an Average number and characteristic employee job of weeks worked Total, while age 15 ...... 40.2 23.5 Male youths..................... 43.8 24.2 Female youths................... 36.5 22.6 White non-Hispanic.............. 45.3 24.6 Black non-Hispanic.............. 29.7 18.6 Hispanic origin ................ 28.4 21.5 Total, while age 16 ...... 69.1 28.4 Male youths..................... 70.0 28.2 Female youths................... 68.1 28.6 White non-Hispanic.............. 75.4 29.7 Black non-Hispanic.............. 54.8 24.6 Hispanic origin ................ 58.6 25.4 Total, while age 17 ....... 78.9 33.8 Male youths..................... 79.2 33.0 Female youths................... 78.6 34.6 White non-Hispanic.............. 83.8 35.4 Black non-Hispanic.............. 66.3 29.2 Hispanic origin ................ 70.9 29.5 Total, while age 18 ....... 88.1 34.2 Male youths..................... 87.9 33.9 Female youths................... 88.2 34.5 White non-Hispanic.............. 91.3 35.5 Black non-Hispanic.............. 76.6 29.7 Hispanic origin ................ 85.7 33.8 NOTE: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Race and Hispanic-origin groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates. Table 5. Employment status of youths while age 16 in 1996-2001 by their employment status at age 15 (Percent) Worked while age 16 Did not Employment status while age 15 Total Employee Freelance Both work while jobs jobs employee age 16 only only and freelance jobs Total Worked ................................ 91.9 43.0 15.3 33.6 8.1 Employee jobs only ................ 90.8 80.8 2.5 7.5 9.2 Freelance jobs only..... .......... 90.3 19.1 29.9 41.3 9.7 Both employee and freelance jobs... 96.1 34.9 6.7 54.5 3.9 Did not work .......................... 59.5 47.1 6.9 5.5 40.5 Male youths Worked ................................ 91.6 50.9 13.5 27.2 8.4 Employee jobs only ................ 91.5 81.8 2.5 7.2 8.5 Freelance jobs only ............... 89.3 24.4 30.2 34.7 10.7 Both employee and freelance jobs... 95.3 36.3 7.1 51.9 4.7 Did not work .......................... 60.0 48.7 6.4 4.9 40.0 Female youths Worked ................................ 92.2 35.1 17.1 40.1 7.8 Employee jobs only ................ 89.6 79.2 2.5 7.9 10.4 Freelance jobs only..... .......... 91.0 15.2 29.7 46.1 9.0 Both employee and freelance jobs... 96.8 33.7 6.3 56.8 3.2 Did not work .......................... 58.9 45.3 7.4 6.2 41.1 NOTE: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Table 6. Employment status of youths while age 17 in 1997-2001 by their employment status at age 16 (Percent) Worked while age 17 Employment status while age 16 Did not Total Employee Freelance Both work while jobs jobs employee age 17 only only and freelance jobs Total Worked ................................ 92.7 61.8 7.5 23.4 7.3 Employee jobs only ................ 92.7 86.5 1.1 5.1 7.3 Freelance jobs only..... .......... 85.2 18.7 33.6 32.9 14.8 Both employee and freelance jobs... 96.6 41.2 5.0 50.4 3.4 Did not work .......................... 58.0 47.6 6.2 4.2 42.0 Male youths Worked ................................ 91.8 67.4 6.2 18.2 8.2 Employee jobs only ................ 92.5 86.6 1.2 4.7 7.5 Freelance jobs only ............... 81.4 23.6 28.0 29.8 18.6 Both employee and freelance jobs... 96.2 45.8 5.9 44.6 3.8 Did not work .......................... 57.5 48.2 5.4 3.9 42.5 Female youths Worked ................................ 93.6 55.9 8.8 28.8 6.4 Employee jobs only ................ 93.0 86.4 1.0 5.7 7.0 Freelance jobs only..... .......... 88.5 14.5 38.4 35.6 11.5 Both employee and freelance jobs... 96.9 37.9 4.3 54.6 3.1 Did not work .......................... 58.6 46.9 7.2 4.5 41.4 NOTE: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996. Table 7. Employment status of youths while age 18 in 1998-2001 by their employment status at age 17 (Percent) Worked while age 18 Employment status while age 17 Did not Total Employee Freelance Both work while jobs jobs employee age 18 only only and freelance jobs Total Worked ................................ 94.8 74.6 2.9 17.3 5.2 Employee jobs only ................ 94.8 90.3 .8 3.6 5.2 Freelance jobs only..... .......... 90.0 31.2 17.5 41.4 10.0 Both employee and freelance jobs... 97.0 45.4 3.1 48.4 3.0 Did not work .......................... 68.2 62.5 3.0 2.8 31.8 Male youths Worked ................................ 94.5 77.5 2.2 14.7 5.5 Employee jobs only ................ 93.9 89.9 .8 3.1 6.1 Freelance jobs only ............... 90.4 36.0 14.2 40.2 9.6 Both employee and freelance jobs... 98.4 43.0 3.6 51.7 1.6 Did not work .......................... 66.9 62.9 2.1 1.9 33.1 Female youths Worked ................................ 95.2 71.7 3.5 20.0 4.8 Employee jobs only ................ 95.9 90.8 .9 4.2 4.1 Freelance jobs only..... .......... 89.7 28.1 19.6 42.1 10.3 Both employee and freelance jobs... 96.0 47.1 2.8 46.0 4.0 Did not work .......................... 69.9 61.9 4.1 3.9 30.1 NOTE: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 consists of young men and women who were ages 12 to 16 on December 31, 1996.