Technical information: (202 691-6378 USDL 05-1565 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, August 19, 2005 EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 2005 The number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by 2.7 million to 21.7 million from April to July 2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. July is the traditional summertime peak for youth employment. This summer's increase in youth employment was slightly larger than last year's 2.3 million increase. Unemployment among youth rose by 290,000 between April and July 2005, compared with an increase of 631,000 from April to July 2004. (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 to begin permanent employment. This summer, the youth labor force grew by 3.0 million to a total of 24.4 million in July. (See table 1.) The July labor force participation rate for youth (the proportion of their population working or looking for work) was 66.6 percent in 2005. The July participation rate for youth has been trending down since the early 1990s. The 2005 rate was the lowest for July since 1965. The labor force participation rate for young men in July 2005, 69.6 percent, edged lower from a year earlier when it was 70.4 percent. This July's labor force participation rates for young women (63.6 percent), whites (69.0 percent), blacks (58.3 percent), Hispanics or Latinos (60.0 percent) and Asians (53.1 percent) were little changed over the year. (See table 2.) The proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds enrolled in school in July 2005 (27.8 percent) decreased slightly from July 2004 (28.9 percent). The proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds enrolled in school in July has grown over the last decade from 16.6 percent in July 1995 to 27.8 percent in July 2005. Only about half of the youth enrolled in school were in the labor force in July, compared with about three-fourths of those not in school. Employment There were 21.7 million 16- to 24-year-olds employed in July 2005, an increase of 302,000 from July 2004. The employment-population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-year-old civilian noninstitutional population that was employed--was 59.3 percent in July 2005. The ratio had fallen by 6.9 percentage points between July 1999 and July 2003 before edging up in the past two summers. The employment-population ratios for young men (61.6 percent), women (57.0 percent), whites (62.8 percent), blacks (44.7 percent), Asians (46.7 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (54.1 percent) were little changed from a year earlier. In July 2005, 22 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and hospitality industry and 20 percent worked in retail trade. In addition, large percentages of employed youth worked in education and health services, professional and business services, construction, and manufacturing. (See table 3.) - 2 - Unemployment In July 2005, 2.7 million youth were unemployed; this was a decrease of 330,000 from a year earlier. The youth unemployment rate, 11.0 percent, was down from 12.3 percent in July 2004. The unemployment rate for young men was little changed over the year at 11.5 percent, while the rate for young women decreased by 2.2 percentage points to 10.5 percent. The jobless rates for young whites, blacks, and Hispanics or Latinos decreased over the year. (See table 2.) - 3 - 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 2005, 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 2005" in the February 2005 issue of Employment Earnings, available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps05adj.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 the "Explanatory Notes and Esti- mates of Error" section of Employment and Earnings. 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. 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. - 4 - 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 2005 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) April-July Employment status, sex, race, and changes(1) Hispanic or Latino ethnicity April May June July Number Percent TOTAL Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 36,601 36,627 36,654 36,681 79 0.2 Civilian labor force........................................... 21,468 21,976 23,959 24,436 2,968 13.8 Participation rate....................................... 58.7 60.0 65.4 66.6 8.0 13.6 Employed..................................................... 19,071 19,356 20,949 21,749 2,678 14.0 Employment-population ratio.............................. 52.1 52.8 57.2 59.3 7.2 13.8 Unemployed................................................... 2,398 2,619 3,010 2,688 290 12.1 Looking for full-time work............................... 1,591 1,780 2,155 1,916 325 20.4 Looking for part-time work............................... 807 839 855 771 -35 -4.4 Unemployment rate........................................ 11.2 11.9 12.6 11.0 -.2 -1.5 Not in labor force............................................. 15,133 14,651 12,695 12,244 -2,889 -19.1 Men Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,456 18,471 18,486 18,501 45 .2 Civilian labor force........................................... 11,182 11,431 12,634 12,871 1,689 15.1 Participation rate....................................... 60.6 61.9 68.3 69.6 9.0 14.8 Employed..................................................... 9,783 10,015 10,956 11,393 1,609 16.4 Employment-population ratio.............................. 53.0 54.2 59.3 61.6 8.6 16.2 Unemployed................................................... 1,398 1,416 1,677 1,478 80 5.7 Looking for full-time work............................... 960 987 1,196 1,077 117 12.2 Looking for part-time work............................... 438 429 481 401 -37 -8.5 Unemployment rate........................................ 12.5 12.4 13.3 11.5 -1.0 -8.2 Not in labor force............................................. 7,275 7,040 5,852 5,630 -1,645 -22.6 Women Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,145 18,156 18,168 18,180 35 .2 Civilian labor force........................................... 10,287 10,545 11,325 11,566 1,279 12.4 Participation rate....................................... 56.7 58.1 62.3 63.6 6.9 12.2 Employed..................................................... 9,287 9,342 9,993 10,356 1,069 11.5 Employment-population ratio.............................. 51.2 51.5 55.0 57.0 5.8 11.3 Unemployed................................................... 1,000 1,203 1,333 1,209 210 21.0 Looking for full-time work............................... 631 793 959 839 208 33.0 Looking for part-time work............................... 368 410 374 370 2 .5 Unemployment rate........................................ 9.7 11.4 11.8 10.5 .7 7.6 Not in labor force............................................. 7,858 7,611 6,842 6,614 -1,244 -15.8 White Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 28,517 28,532 28,549 28,566 49 .2 Civilian labor force........................................... 17,380 17,743 19,360 19,712 2,331 13.4 Participation rate....................................... 60.9 62.2 67.8 69.0 8.1 13.2 Employed..................................................... 15,723 15,986 17,360 17,944 2,221 14.1 Employment-population ratio.............................. 55.1 56.0 60.8 62.8 7.7 13.9 Unemployed................................................... 1,658 1,758 2,000 1,768 110 6.6 Looking for full-time work............................... 1,038 1,157 1,374 1,234 197 18.9 Looking for part-time work............................... 620 600 626 533 -87 -14.0 Unemployment rate........................................ 9.5 9.9 10.3 9.0 -.6 -6.0 Not in labor force............................................. 11,137 10,789 9,189 8,854 -2,283 -20.5 Black or African American Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 5,296 5,303 5,310 5,317 21 .4 Civilian labor force........................................... 2,666 2,801 3,064 3,097 432 16.2 Participation rate....................................... 50.3 52.8 57.7 58.3 7.9 15.7 Employed..................................................... 2,090 2,115 2,260 2,378 288 13.8 Employment-population ratio.............................. 39.5 39.9 42.6 44.7 5.3 13.3 Unemployed................................................... 575 687 804 719 144 25.0 Looking for full-time work............................... 443 501 626 544 100 22.6 Looking for part-time work............................... 132 186 178 176 44 33.1 Unemployment rate........................................ 21.6 24.5 26.2 23.2 1.6 7.6 Not in labor force............................................. 2,631 2,502 2,246 2,220 -411 -15.6 Asian Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 1,467 1,472 1,503 1,497 30 2.1 Civilian labor force........................................... 640 652 702 794 154 24.1 Participation rate....................................... 43.7 44.3 46.7 53.1 9.4 21.6 Employed..................................................... 601 591 628 699 98 16.3 Employment-population ratio.............................. 41.0 40.2 41.8 46.7 5.7 14.0 Unemployed................................................... 39 61 74 95 56 143.6 Looking for full-time work............................... 25 46 46 58 33 132.7 Looking for part-time work............................... 14 15 28 38 23 162.5 Unemployment rate........................................ 6.1 9.4 10.5 12.0 5.9 96.3 Not in labor force............................................. 826 819 801 702 -124 -15.0 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 6,314 6,321 6,328 6,335 21 .3 Civilian labor force........................................... 3,651 3,649 3,806 3,800 149 4.1 Participation rate....................................... 57.8 57.7 60.1 60.0 2.2 3.7 Employed..................................................... 3,226 3,276 3,412 3,428 202 6.3 Employment-population ratio.............................. 51.1 51.8 53.9 54.1 3.0 5.9 Unemployed................................................... 425 373 394 372 -53 -12.5 Looking for full-time work............................... 304 256 292 292 -12 -3.8 Looking for part-time work............................... 122 117 102 80 -42 -34.3 Unemployment rate........................................ 11.6 10.2 10.3 9.8 -1.9 -16.0 Not in labor force............................................. 2,664 2,672 2,523 2,536 -128 -4.8 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. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data reflect revised population controls introduced in January 2005. Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2002-05 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Employment status, sex, race, and 2002 2003 2004 2005 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity TOTAL Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 35,322 35,905 36,415 36,681 Civilian labor force........................................... 24,536 24,150 24,465 24,436 Participation rate....................................... 69.5 67.3 67.2 66.6 Employed..................................................... 21,501 20,950 21,447 21,749 Employment-population ratio.............................. 60.9 58.3 58.9 59.3 Unemployed................................................... 3,034 3,200 3,018 2,688 Looking for full-time work............................... 2,250 2,448 2,212 1,916 Looking for part-time work............................... 785 753 806 771 Unemployment rate........................................ 12.4 13.3 12.3 11.0 Not in labor force............................................. 10,786 11,755 11,950 12,244 Men Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 17,758 18,042 18,356 18,501 Civilian labor force........................................... 12,837 12,635 12,925 12,871 Participation rate....................................... 72.3 70.0 70.4 69.6 Employed..................................................... 11,231 10,838 11,373 11,393 Employment-population ratio.............................. 63.2 60.1 62.0 61.6 Unemployed................................................... 1,606 1,796 1,552 1,478 Looking for full-time work............................... 1,172 1,416 1,176 1,077 Looking for part-time work............................... 434 381 377 401 Unemployment rate........................................ 12.5 14.2 12.0 11.5 Not in labor force............................................. 4,921 5,407 5,431 5,630 Women Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 17,563 17,863 18,059 18,180 Civilian labor force........................................... 11,699 11,516 11,540 11,566 Participation rate....................................... 66.6 64.5 63.9 63.6 Employed..................................................... 10,271 10,112 10,074 10,356 Employment-population ratio.............................. 58.5 56.6 55.8 57.0 Unemployed................................................... 1,428 1,404 1,465 1,209 Looking for full-time work............................... 1,077 1,032 1,036 839 Looking for part-time work............................... 351 372 429 370 Unemployment rate........................................ 12.2 12.2 12.7 10.5 Not in labor force............................................. 5,865 6,348 6,519 6,614 White (1) Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 27,959 28,066 28,410 28,566 Civilian labor force........................................... 20,262 19,749 19,859 19,712 Participation rate....................................... 72.5 70.4 69.9 69.0 Employed..................................................... 18,092 17,566 17,848 17,944 Employment-population ratio.............................. 64.7 62.6 62.8 62.8 Unemployed................................................... 2,169 2,182 2,011 1,768 Looking for full-time work............................... 1,566 1,611 1,406 1,234 Looking for part-time work............................... 604 571 605 533 Unemployment rate........................................ 10.7 11.1 10.1 9.0 Not in labor force............................................. 7,697 8,317 8,551 8,854 Black or African American (1) Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 5,199 5,159 5,245 5,317 Civilian labor force........................................... 2,989 2,930 3,029 3,097 Participation rate....................................... 57.5 56.8 57.7 58.3 Employed..................................................... 2,319 2,150 2,224 2,378 Employment-population ratio.............................. 44.6 41.7 42.4 44.7 Unemployed................................................... 670 780 804 719 Looking for full-time work............................... 549 655 666 544 Looking for part-time work............................... 121 125 138 176 Unemployment rate........................................ 22.4 26.6 26.6 23.2 Not in labor force............................................. 2,211 2,229 2,216 2,220 Asian (1) Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 1,724 1,464 1,503 1,497 Civilian labor force........................................... 966 740 786 794 Participation rate....................................... 56.0 50.5 52.3 53.1 Employed..................................................... 815 642 719 699 Employment-population ratio.............................. 47.3 43.8 47.8 46.7 Unemployed................................................... 151 98 68 95 Looking for full-time work............................... 97 63 46 58 Looking for part-time work............................... 54 34 22 38 Unemployment rate........................................ 15.6 13.2 8.6 12.0 Not in labor force............................................. 758 724 716 702 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 6,004 6,079 6,275 6,335 Civilian labor force........................................... 3,900 3,772 3,926 3,800 Participation rate....................................... 65.0 62.0 62.6 60.0 Employed..................................................... 3,390 3,244 3,428 3,428 Employment-population ratio.............................. 56.5 53.4 54.6 54.1 Unemployed................................................... 510 528 498 372 Looking for full-time work............................... 419 406 373 292 Looking for part-time work............................... 91 121 125 80 Unemployment rate........................................ 13.1 14.0 12.7 9.8 Not in labor force............................................. 2,104 2,307 2,349 2,536 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group were included in the group they identified as the main race. Also, beginning in 2003, Asians exclude Pacific Islanders. 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. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data for 2003, 2004, and 2005 reflect revised population controls introduced in January 2003, January 2004, and January 2005. Table 3. Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2004-05 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Total White Black or African Asian Hispanic or American Latino ethnicity Industry and class of worker 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 Total employed.......................... 21,447 21,749 17,848 17,944 2,224 2,378 719 699 3,428 3,428 Agriculture and related industries.... 338 341 318 320 6 11 - - 86 80 Nonagricultural industries............ 21,110 21,407 17,530 17,624 2,218 2,367 718 699 3,343 3,347 Private wage and salary workers..... 19,188 19,410 15,997 16,066 1,959 2,066 634 642 3,115 3,102 Mining............................ 41 57 41 43 - 11 - 2 7 19 Construction...................... 1,543 1,551 1,378 1,406 75 91 14 7 463 453 Manufacturing..................... 1,515 1,423 1,257 1,166 107 171 103 27 331 298 Durable goods................... 954 853 829 736 39 70 49 14 167 179 Nondurable goods................ 562 570 428 429 68 100 54 14 164 119 Wholesale trade................... 452 414 381 342 45 33 13 19 66 71 Retail trade...................... 4,140 4,384 3,386 3,590 482 498 153 138 526 564 Transportation and utilities...... 503 510 383 412 94 68 13 5 92 70 Information....................... 353 422 288 333 42 61 4 15 45 49 Financial activities.............. 1,052 1,142 896 954 112 96 25 59 163 210 Professional and business services........................ 1,701 1,563 1,424 1,245 179 215 44 62 302 262 Education and health services..... 2,110 2,072 1,688 1,646 268 295 81 91 306 229 Leisure and hospitality........... 4,703 4,770 3,980 3,979 445 455 145 167 703 694 Other services.................... 1,075 1,103 897 951 110 72 39 50 111 183 Government.......................... 1,434 1,577 1,089 1,186 236 286 75 37 136 159 Federal........................... 189 230 138 166 40 49 3 5 11 19 State............................. 445 470 329 342 76 97 37 27 54 37 Local............................. 799 877 621 678 120 140 36 5 71 103 Self-employed and unpaid family workers........................... 488 420 444 372 23 15 9 20 91 87 - 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. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data for 2004 and 2005 reflect revised population controls introduced in January 2004 and January 2005.