Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 08-1212
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, August 28, 2008
EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 2008
From April to July 2008, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years
old increased by 1.9 million to 21.0 million, the Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. July is the tradi-
tional summertime peak for youth employment. This summer's increase in
youth employment was lower than last year's 2.3 million increase. Unem-
ployment among youth increased by 1.2 million between April and July 2008;
this was more than twice the increase in youth unemployment during the
same period in 2007. (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.
During these months, large numbers of high school and college students
take or search for summer jobs, and many graduates enter the labor
market to look for or begin permanent employment. This summer, the
youth labor force grew by 3.1 million to a total of 24.4 million in
July. (See table 1.)
The labor force participation rate for youth--the proportion of
their population working or looking for work--was 65.1 percent in July
2008, essentially the same as in July 2007 and about 12 percentage points
below its peak for that month in 1989 (77.5 percent). Over the
1989-2008 period, the proportion of youth enrolled in school in July
trended up; youth enrolled in school are much less likely than those
not in school to be in the labor force.
The July 2008 labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-old
men (68.1 percent) was about the same as a year earlier, and the rate
for women (62.1 percent) was unchanged over the year. For several
decades prior to 1989, young men's July labor force participation rate
showed no clear trend, ranging from 81 to 86 percent. Since July
1989, however, their participation rate has trended down by about 15
percentage points. Young women's July labor force participation rate
peaked in 1989 after a long-term upward trend; their rate has trended
down by about 10 percentage points since then.
The July 2008 participation rates for whites (68.1 percent), blacks
(54.7 percent), and Hispanics (60.1 percent) were little changed from
a year earlier. For all three groups, labor force participation rates
were more than 10 percentage points lower than their peak levels
reached in July 1989. The participation rate for Asian youth in July
2008 (50.6 percent) also was little different from July 2007. (See
table 2.)
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Employment
In July 2008, 21.0 million 16- to 24-year-olds were employed. The
employment-population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-
year-old civilian noninstitutional population that was employed--was
56.0 percent, down 2.0 percentage points from July 2007. The ratio
has fallen by about 13 percentage points since its peak in July 1989;
the steep decline from July 2007 to July 2008 may reflect, in part,
weaker labor market conditions during the summer of 2008. (See
table 2.)
The July employment-population ratio for young men was 57.9 percent
in July 2008, down from 60.3 percent in July 2007. The employment-
population ratios for women (54.2 percent) and whites (59.7 percent)
in July 2008 also were lower than a year earlier. The ratios for
blacks (41.2 percent), Asians (46.4 percent), and Hispanics (50.5 per-
cent) were about unchanged.
In July 2008, 23 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure
and hospitality industry (which includes food services) and 18 percent
worked in retail trade. In addition, nearly two-fifths of employed
youth worked in education and health services, professional and busi-
ness services, government, manufacturing, and construction combined.
(See table 3.)
Unemployment
In July 2008, 3.4 million youth were unemployed and the youth
unemployment rate was 14.0 percent, the highest rate for July since
1992. As with the decline in employment, the increase in youth
unemployment in the summer of 2008 partly reflected a weaker job
market. The July 2008 unemployment rates for young men (15.0 per-
cent), women (12.8 percent), whites (12.3 percent), blacks (24.8
percent), and Hispanics (16.0 percent) increased from a year earlier.
The jobless rate for Asians (8.4 percent) was about unchanged from
July 2007. (See table 2.)
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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.
Beginning in January 2008, data reflect revised population controls
used in the CPS. For a discussion of the introduction of the revised
population controls and the impact that their introduction had on the CPS
data, see "Adjustments to Household Survey Population Estimates in January
2008" available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps08adj.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 "Reliability of estimates from the
CPS" available on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#
reliability.
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.
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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.
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 2008
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
April-July changes (1)
Employment status, sex, race, and April May June July
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Number Percent
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 37,425 37,449 37,476 37,506 81 0.2
Civilian labor force........................................... 21,357 22,206 23,916 24,429 3,072 14.4
Participation rate....................................... 57.1 59.3 63.8 65.1 8.1 14.1
Employed..................................................... 19,161 19,254 20,466 21,021 1,860 9.7
Employment-population ratio.............................. 51.2 51.4 54.6 56.0 4.8 9.5
Unemployed................................................... 2,196 2,952 3,450 3,408 1,212 55.2
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,501 2,083 2,533 2,552 1,051 70.1
Looking for part-time work............................... 695 868 917 856 160 23.0
Unemployment rate........................................ 10.3 13.3 14.4 14.0 3.7 35.7
Not in labor force............................................. 16,067 15,243 13,560 13,076 -2,991 -18.6
Men
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,882 18,893 18,906 18,919 37 .2
Civilian labor force........................................... 11,151 11,715 12,604 12,882 1,731 15.5
Participation rate....................................... 59.1 62.0 66.7 68.1 9.0 15.3
Employed..................................................... 9,883 10,047 10,662 10,946 1,064 10.8
Employment-population ratio.............................. 52.3 53.2 56.4 57.9 5.5 10.5
Unemployed................................................... 1,268 1,668 1,941 1,935 667 52.6
Looking for full-time work............................... 935 1,219 1,469 1,483 547 58.5
Looking for part-time work............................... 333 449 472 453 120 36.0
Unemployment rate........................................ 11.4 14.2 15.4 15.0 3.7 32.1
Not in labor force............................................. 7,732 7,179 6,302 6,037 -1,694 -21.9
Women
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,542 18,556 18,571 18,587 44 .2
Civilian labor force........................................... 10,207 10,491 11,312 11,547 1,341 13.1
Participation rate....................................... 55.0 56.5 60.9 62.1 7.1 12.9
Employed..................................................... 9,278 9,207 9,804 10,075 796 8.6
Employment-population ratio.............................. 50.0 49.6 52.8 54.2 4.2 8.3
Unemployed................................................... 928 1,284 1,509 1,473 544 58.6
Looking for full-time work............................... 566 864 1,064 1,070 504 89.1
Looking for part-time work............................... 362 419 445 403 40 11.1
Unemployment rate........................................ 9.1 12.2 13.3 12.8 3.7 40.2
Not in labor force............................................. 8,336 8,065 7,258 7,039 -1,297 -15.6
White
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 28,967 28,980 28,995 29,012 44 .2
Civilian labor force........................................... 17,213 17,933 19,453 19,760 2,547 14.8
Participation rate....................................... 59.4 61.9 67.1 68.1 8.7 14.6
Employed..................................................... 15,630 15,806 16,952 17,323 1,692 10.8
Employment-population ratio.............................. 54.0 54.5 58.5 59.7 5.8 10.7
Unemployed................................................... 1,583 2,127 2,501 2,437 854 54.0
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,033 1,463 1,764 1,759 726 70.3
Looking for part-time work............................... 550 663 738 678 128 23.3
Unemployment rate........................................ 9.2 11.9 12.9 12.3 3.1 34.1
Not in labor force............................................. 11,754 11,047 9,542 9,252 -2,502 -21.3
Black or African American
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 5,572 5,579 5,587 5,595 23 .4
Civilian labor force........................................... 2,673 2,778 2,934 3,062 389 14.5
Participation rate....................................... 48.0 49.8 52.5 54.7 6.7 14.1
Employed..................................................... 2,236 2,174 2,227 2,302 67 3.0
Employment-population ratio.............................. 40.1 39.0 39.9 41.2 1.0 2.5
Unemployed................................................... 437 604 707 760 322 73.7
Looking for full-time work............................... 335 470 602 647 312 93.1
Looking for part-time work............................... 102 134 105 112 10 10.0
Unemployment rate........................................ 16.4 21.8 24.1 24.8 8.4 51.6
Not in labor force............................................. 2,898 2,801 2,653 2,533 -365 -12.6
Asian
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 1,489 1,498 1,526 1,516 27 1.8
Civilian labor force........................................... 650 693 722 767 118 18.1
Participation rate....................................... 43.6 46.3 47.3 50.6 7.0 16.0
Employed..................................................... 609 624 628 703 94 15.5
Employment-population ratio.............................. 40.9 41.7 41.1 46.4 5.5 13.4
Unemployed................................................... 41 69 94 64 23 57.0
Looking for full-time work............................... 33 46 57 38 5 13.6
Looking for part-time work............................... 8 23 37 26 19 246.8
Unemployment rate........................................ 6.3 9.9 13.1 8.4 2.1 32.9
Not in labor force............................................. 839 805 804 748 -91 -10.8
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 6,622 6,637 6,653 6,669 47 .7
Civilian labor force........................................... 3,800 3,817 3,994 4,007 206 5.4
Participation rate....................................... 57.4 57.5 60.0 60.1 2.7 4.7
Employed..................................................... 3,313 3,310 3,389 3,367 54 1.6
Employment-population ratio.............................. 50.0 49.9 50.9 50.5 .5 .9
Unemployed................................................... 487 508 605 639 152 31.2
Looking for full-time work............................... 346 376 442 487 140 40.5
Looking for part-time work............................... 141 131 163 153 12 8.2
Unemployment rate........................................ 12.8 13.3 15.1 16.0 3.1 24.4
Not in labor force............................................. 2,821 2,820 2,659 2,662 -159 -5.7
1 Changes are calculated using unrounded data.
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. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population
controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2005-2008
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Employment status, sex, race, and 2005 2006 2007 2008
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 36,681 36,989 37,443 37,506
Civilian labor force........................................... 24,436 24,664 24,339 24,429
Participation rate....................................... 66.6 66.7 65.0 65.1
Employed..................................................... 21,749 21,914 21,717 21,021
Employment-population ratio.............................. 59.3 59.2 58.0 56.0
Unemployed................................................... 2,688 2,750 2,622 3,408
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,916 2,028 1,892 2,552
Looking for part-time work............................... 771 722 730 856
Unemployment rate........................................ 11.0 11.2 10.8 14.0
Not in labor force............................................. 12,244 12,324 13,104 13,076
Men
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,501 18,675 18,926 18,919
Civilian labor force........................................... 12,871 13,024 12,845 12,882
Participation rate....................................... 69.6 69.7 67.9 68.1
Employed..................................................... 11,393 11,568 11,421 10,946
Employment-population ratio.............................. 61.6 61.9 60.3 57.9
Unemployed................................................... 1,478 1,456 1,424 1,935
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,077 1,152 1,059 1,483
Looking for part-time work............................... 401 303 365 453
Unemployment rate........................................ 11.5 11.2 11.1 15.0
Not in labor force............................................. 5,630 5,651 6,081 6,037
Women
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,180 18,314 18,517 18,587
Civilian labor force........................................... 11,566 11,641 11,494 11,547
Participation rate....................................... 63.6 63.6 62.1 62.1
Employed..................................................... 10,356 10,346 10,296 10,075
Employment-population ratio.............................. 57.0 56.5 55.6 54.2
Unemployed................................................... 1,209 1,295 1,198 1,473
Looking for full-time work............................... 839 876 833 1,070
Looking for part-time work............................... 370 419 365 403
Unemployment rate........................................ 10.5 11.1 10.4 12.8
Not in labor force............................................. 6,614 6,673 7,023 7,039
White
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 28,566 28,736 29,012 29,012
Civilian labor force........................................... 19,712 20,002 19,734 19,760
Participation rate....................................... 69.0 69.6 68.0 68.1
Employed..................................................... 17,944 18,193 17,899 17,323
Employment-population ratio.............................. 62.8 63.3 61.7 59.7
Unemployed................................................... 1,768 1,808 1,835 2,437
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,234 1,289 1,304 1,759
Looking for part-time work............................... 533 520 531 678
Unemployment rate........................................ 9.0 9.0 9.3 12.3
Not in labor force............................................. 8,854 8,735 9,278 9,252
Black or African American
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 5,317 5,426 5,539 5,595
Civilian labor force........................................... 3,097 3,133 2,998 3,062
Participation rate....................................... 58.3 57.7 54.1 54.7
Employed..................................................... 2,378 2,361 2,382 2,302
Employment-population ratio.............................. 44.7 43.5 43.0 41.2
Unemployed................................................... 719 772 616 760
Looking for full-time work............................... 544 617 488 647
Looking for part-time work............................... 176 155 128 112
Unemployment rate........................................ 23.2 24.7 20.5 24.8
Not in labor force............................................. 2,220 2,293 2,541 2,533
Asian
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 1,497 1,474 1,511 1,516
Civilian labor force........................................... 794 687 747 767
Participation rate....................................... 53.1 46.6 49.4 50.6
Employed..................................................... 699 631 689 703
Employment-population ratio.............................. 46.7 42.8 45.6 46.4
Unemployed................................................... 95 56 58 64
Looking for full-time work............................... 58 33 32 38
Looking for part-time work............................... 38 23 26 26
Unemployment rate........................................ 12.0 8.2 7.7 8.4
Not in labor force............................................. 702 787 764 748
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 6,335 6,406 6,597 6,669
Civilian labor force........................................... 3,800 3,943 3,928 4,007
Participation rate....................................... 60.0 61.5 59.5 60.1
Employed..................................................... 3,428 3,534 3,465 3,367
Employment-population ratio.............................. 54.1 55.2 52.5 50.5
Unemployed................................................... 372 409 464 639
Looking for full-time work............................... 292 287 341 487
Looking for part-time work............................... 80 122 123 153
Unemployment rate........................................ 9.8 10.4 11.8 16.0
Not in labor force............................................. 2,536 2,463 2,669 2,662
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. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 3. Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2007-2008
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Total White Black or African Asian Hispanic or
American Latino ethnicity
Industry and class of worker
2007 2008 2007 2008 2007 2008 2007 2008 2007 2008
Total employed............................... 21,717 21,021 17,899 17,323 2,382 2,302 689 703 3,465 3,367
Agriculture and related industries......... 345 418 326 412 4 1 6 1 97 68
Nonagricultural industries................. 21,372 20,604 17,574 16,911 2,377 2,301 683 702 3,368 3,299
Private wage and salary workers.......... 19,375 18,601 15,975 15,246 2,107 2,089 625 643 3,070 3,033
Mining................................. 97 107 91 95 4 4 - 3 10 3
Construction........................... 1,558 1,217 1,439 1,122 56 42 5 9 477 364
Manufacturing.......................... 1,398 1,390 1,145 1,171 154 106 71 63 224 296
Durable goods........................ 818 820 655 714 94 50 47 33 71 165
Nondurable goods..................... 580 571 491 457 61 56 23 31 153 131
Wholesale trade........................ 442 371 408 315 26 32 0 7 107 66
Retail trade........................... 4,242 3,880 3,456 3,119 505 495 132 148 589 566
Transportation and utilities........... 479 464 380 335 71 89 14 10 90 96
Information............................ 384 369 289 301 49 32 19 19 54 57
Financial activities................... 980 979 784 806 108 106 57 50 171 179
Professional and business services..... 1,672 1,659 1,355 1,355 208 172 62 83 259 281
Education and health services.......... 2,238 2,175 1,749 1,645 353 388 69 78 308 227
Leisure and hospitality................ 4,710 4,926 3,861 4,063 490 550 173 127 612 691
Other services......................... 1,174 1,064 1,019 918 82 74 23 46 168 206
Government............................... 1,607 1,538 1,267 1,247 234 197 50 50 196 169
Federal................................ 171 182 127 148 25 20 13 2 16 25
State.................................. 505 505 378 385 86 72 21 27 67 56
Local.................................. 930 852 763 714 123 105 16 22 113 88
Self-employed and unpaid family workers.. 390 464 332 418 36 15 9 9 102 96
- Dash represents or rounds to 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. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls
are introduced annually with the release of January data.
United States Department of Labor
