For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, August 16, 2019 		      	          USDL-19-1477

Technical information: (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                 EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH -- SUMMER 2019


From April to July 2019, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by
2.4 million to 21.2 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In
July 2019, 56.2 percent of young people were employed, up from 55.0 percent in July
2018. (The month of July typically is the summertime peak in youth employment.) The
unemployment rate for youth was 9.1 percent in July, the lowest rate since July 1966,
and little changed from the prior year. (Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal
changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur each 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 search for or take summer jobs, and many graduates enter
the labor market to look for or begin permanent employment. This summer, the youth
labor force grew by 3.0 million, or 14.9 percent, to a total of 23.3 million in July.
(See table 1.)

The labor force participation rate for all youth was 61.8 percent in July, an increase
of 1.2 percentage points from a year earlier. (The labor force participation rate is
the proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population that is working or looking
and available for work.) (See table 2.) This year, the July labor force participation
rate was notably higher than the July rates for the prior 9 years. The summer youth
labor force participation rate peaked at 77.5 percent in July 1989. 

The July 2019 labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-old men, at 63.2 percent,
was up 2.1 percentage points over the year. The rate for young women, at 60.4 percent,
changed little during the same period. Continuing a long-standing pattern, Whites had
the highest youth labor force participation rate in July 2019, at 64.1 percent. The
rate for Blacks was 58.3 percent, for Asians 44.6 percent, and for Hispanics 57.8 percent.
Over the year, the labor force participation rate rose for Whites (+1.3 percentage points),
Blacks (+1.8 points), and Asians (+1.3 points), but was little changed for Hispanics.

Employment

In July 2019, there were 21.2 million employed 16- to 24-year-olds. Between April and
July 2019, the number of employed youth rose by 2.4 million, or 12.8 percent. This was
somewhat larger than the increase between April and July 2018, when employment rose by
2.0 million, or 10.7 percent. The employment-population ratio for youth--the proportion
of the 16- to 24-year-old civilian noninstitutional population with a job--was 56.2 percent
in July 2019, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from the prior year. (See tables 1 and
2.)

Employment-population ratios in July 2019 were higher than a year earlier for young men
(57.3 percent), Whites (58.9 percent), Blacks (49.8 percent), and Asians (41.0 percent).
The employment-population ratios for young women (55.1 percent) and Hispanics (51.3
percent) were little different from the prior summer.

In July 2019, the largest percentage of employed youth worked in the leisure and
hospitality industry (25 percent), which includes food services. An additional 17 percent
of employed youth worked in the retail trade industry, and 13 percent worked in education
and health services. (See table 3.)

Unemployment

Unemployment among youth rose by 615,000 from April to July 2019, similar to the increase
for the same period in 2018.

The youth unemployment rate, at 9.1 percent in July 2019, was little changed from July
2018. This represents the lowest summer youth unemployment rate since July 1966. The number
of unemployed youth was 2.1 million in July 2019, little different from a year earlier.
Of the 2.1 million unemployed 16- to 24-year-olds, 1.4 million were looking for full-time
work in July 2019, also little changed from July 2018. (See tables 1 and 2.)

The July 2019 unemployment rates for young men (9.4 percent), women (8.8 percent), Whites
(8.0 percent), Asians (8.2 percent), and Hispanics (11.3 percent) were little changed
from the summer before. The rate for young Blacks (14.6 percent) declined over the year.
(See table 2.)

Technical Note


   The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS),
a national sample survey of about 60,000 eligible households conducted monthly 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 transition from school to work. July is the peak
summer month of youth employment.

   Beginning in January of each year, data reflect revised population controls used in
the CPS. Additional information about population controls is available on the BLS
website at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals
upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Reliability of the estimates

   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 component
of this difference that occurs because samples differ by chance is known as sampling
error, and its 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 information, and errors made in the collection or
processing of the data.

   More information on the reliability of data from the CPS and estimating standard errors
is available online at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.

Definitions

   The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly below.

   Employed. Employed persons are all those who, during the survey reference week (which
is generally the week including the 12th day of the month), (a) did any work at all as
paid employees; (b) worked in their own business, profession, or on their own farm;
(c) worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in a family member's business. Persons who
were temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, bad weather, vacation, labor
dispute, or another reason also are counted as employed.

   Unemployed. The unemployed are those who had no employment during the reference week,
were available for work at that time, and had made specific efforts to find employment
sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference week. 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. Looking for full-time work refers to 35 hours or more
per week; part-time work refers to fewer than 35 hours per week.

   Civilian labor force. This group comprises all persons classified as employed or
unemployed.

   Unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons as a
percent of the civilian labor force.

   Labor force participation rate. The labor force participation rate is the labor force
as a percent of the population.

   Employment-population ratio. The employment-population ratio is the employed as a
percent of the population.

   Not in the labor force. Included in this group are all persons in the civilian
noninstitutional population who are neither employed nor unemployed.

   Industry and class of worker. This information applies to the job held during the
reference week. Persons with two or more jobs are classified in the job at which they
worked the greatest number of hours. Persons are classified using the 2012 Census
industry classification system. The class-of-worker breakdown assigns workers to the
following categories: Private and government wage and salary workers, unincorporated
self-employed workers, and unpaid family workers.

   Wage and salary workers. Included in this group are persons who receive wages, salary,
commissions, tips, or pay in kind from a private employer or from a government entity.

   Self-employed workers. Included in this group are those who work for profit or fees
in their own unincorporated business, profession, trade, or farm. Only unincorporated
self-employed are included in the self-employed category. Self-employed persons whose
businesses are incorporated are included with private wage and salary workers.

   Unpaid family workers. Included in this group are persons working without pay for
15 hours a week or more on a farm or in a business operated by a family member in their
household.