Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 07-1284 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, August 24, 2007 EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 2007 From April to July 2007, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by 2.3 million to 21.7 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. July is the traditional summer- time peak for youth employment. This summer’s increase in youth employment was slightly lower than last year's 2.5 million increase. Unemployment among youth increased by 548,000 between April and July, a smaller rise than in 2006. (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 2.9 million to a total of 24.3 million in July. (See table 1.) The labor force participation rate for youth--the proportion of their population working or looking for work--was 65.0 percent in July 2007, down from 66.7 percent in July 2006 and about 13 percentage points below its peak for that month in 1989 (77.5 percent). Over the 1989-2007 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 2007 labor force participation rates for 16- to 24-year-old men (67.9 percent) and women (62.1 percent) were lower than a year earlier. 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 declined 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 fallen by about 10 percentage points since then. The July participation rates for whites (68.0 percent), blacks (54.1 per- cent), and Hispanics (59.5 percent) declined over the year. For all three groups, labor force participation rates were more than 10 percentage points lower than their peak levels for July 1989. The participation rate for Asian youth in July 2007 (49.4 percent) was not much different from July 2006. (See table 2.) - 2 - Employment In July 2007, 21.7 million 16- to 24-year-olds were employed. The em- ployment-population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-year- old civilian noninstitutional population that was employed--was 58.0 per- cent, 1.2 percentage points lower than in July 2006. The ratio has fallen by about 11 percentage points since its peak in July 1989. The July 2007 employment-population ratios for young men (60.3 percent), whites (61.7 percent), and Hispanics (52.5 percent) were lower than a year earlier; the rates for young women (55.6 percent), blacks (43.0 percent), and Asians (45.6 percent) were little changed. (See table 2.) In July 2007, 22 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and hospitality industry (which includes food services) and 20 percent worked in retail trade. In addition, nearly two-fifths of employed youth worked in education and health services, professional and business services, government, construction, and manufacturing combined. (See table 3.) Unemployment In July 2007, 2.6 million youth were unemployed. The youth unemployment rate (10.8 percent) was little different from July 2006. The July 2007 un- employment rates for young men (11.1 percent), women (10.4 percent), whites (9.3 percent), Asians (7.7 percent), and Hispanics (11.8 percent) showed little change from a year earlier. The rate for black youth (20.5 percent) 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 2007, 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 2007" in the February 2007 issue of Employment and Earnings, available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps07adj.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. - 4 - 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 2007 (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............................. 37,349 37,379 37,410 37,443 94 .3 Civilian labor force........................................... 21,442 21,659 23,981 24,339 2,897 13.5 Participation rate....................................... 57.4 57.9 64.1 65.0 7.6 13.2 Employed..................................................... 19,368 19,457 21,098 21,717 2,349 12.1 Employment-population ratio.............................. 51.9 52.1 56.4 58.0 6.1 11.8 Unemployed................................................... 2,074 2,203 2,883 2,622 548 26.4 Looking for full-time work............................... 1,377 1,546 2,136 1,892 516 37.4 Looking for part-time work............................... 698 656 746 730 32 4.6 Unemployment rate........................................ 9.7 10.2 12.0 10.8 1.1 11.4 Not in labor force............................................. 15,907 15,720 13,429 13,104 -2,803 -17.6 Men Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,882 18,896 18,910 18,926 43 .2 Civilian labor force........................................... 11,274 11,458 12,686 12,845 1,571 13.9 Participation rate....................................... 59.7 60.6 67.1 67.9 8.2 13.7 Employed..................................................... 10,080 10,157 11,020 11,421 1,341 13.3 Employment-population ratio.............................. 53.4 53.7 58.3 60.3 7.0 13.0 Unemployed................................................... 1,194 1,302 1,666 1,424 230 19.3 Looking for full-time work............................... 822 980 1,266 1,059 237 28.8 Looking for part-time work............................... 372 322 400 365 -7 -1.9 Unemployment rate........................................ 10.6 11.4 13.1 11.1 .5 4.7 Not in labor force............................................. 7,609 7,438 6,224 6,081 -1,528 -20.1 Women Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,467 18,483 18,500 18,517 50 .3 Civilian labor force........................................... 10,168 10,201 11,294 11,494 1,326 13.0 Participation rate....................................... 55.1 55.2 61.1 62.1 7.0 12.7 Employed..................................................... 9,288 9,300 10,078 10,296 1,008 10.9 Employment-population ratio.............................. 50.3 50.3 54.5 55.6 5.3 10.6 Unemployed................................................... 880 901 1,216 1,198 318 36.1 Looking for full-time work............................... 555 566 870 833 279 50.2 Looking for part-time work............................... 326 335 346 365 39 12.0 Unemployment rate........................................ 8.7 8.8 10.8 10.4 1.8 20.4 Not in labor force............................................. 8,298 8,282 7,205 7,023 -1,275 -15.4 White Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 28,957 28,974 28,992 29,012 55 .2 Civilian labor force........................................... 17,360 17,540 19,405 19,734 2,374 13.7 Participation rate....................................... 60.0 60.5 66.9 68.0 8.1 13.5 Employed..................................................... 15,928 15,942 17,363 17,899 1,972 12.4 Employment-population ratio.............................. 55.0 55.0 59.9 61.7 6.7 12.2 Unemployed................................................... 1,433 1,598 2,043 1,835 403 28.1 Looking for full-time work............................... 930 1,071 1,495 1,304 373 40.1 Looking for part-time work............................... 502 526 548 531 29 5.8 Unemployment rate........................................ 8.3 9.1 10.5 9.3 1.0 12.7 Not in labor force............................................. 11,597 11,434 9,587 9,278 -2,319 -20.0 Black or African American Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 5,512 5,521 5,530 5,539 26 .5 Civilian labor force........................................... 2,649 2,713 3,057 2,998 349 13.2 Participation rate....................................... 48.1 49.1 55.3 54.1 6.1 12.6 Employed..................................................... 2,155 2,239 2,356 2,382 227 10.5 Employment-population ratio.............................. 39.1 40.6 42.6 43.0 3.9 10.0 Unemployed................................................... 494 474 701 616 122 24.7 Looking for full-time work............................... 341 380 551 488 147 43.1 Looking for part-time work............................... 153 94 150 128 -25 -16.3 Unemployment rate........................................ 18.7 17.5 22.9 20.5 1.9 10.2 Not in labor force............................................. 2,864 2,808 2,473 2,541 -323 -11.3 Asian Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 1,534 1,548 1,526 1,511 -23 -1.5 Civilian labor force........................................... 688 627 707 747 59 8.6 Participation rate....................................... 44.8 40.5 46.3 49.4 4.6 10.2 Employed..................................................... 644 585 646 689 45 7.0 Employment-population ratio.............................. 42.0 37.8 42.3 45.6 3.6 8.6 Unemployed................................................... 44 41 61 58 14 32.0 Looking for full-time work............................... 29 27 43 32 3 11.3 Looking for part-time work............................... 15 14 18 26 11 72.1 Unemployment rate........................................ 6.3 6.6 8.7 7.7 1.4 21.5 Not in labor force............................................. 846 921 819 764 -82 -9.7 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 6,560 6,572 6,584 6,597 37 .6 Civilian labor force........................................... 3,776 3,722 3,881 3,928 152 4.0 Participation rate....................................... 57.6 56.6 58.9 59.5 2.0 3.5 Employed..................................................... 3,397 3,327 3,423 3,465 68 2.0 Employment-population ratio.............................. 51.8 50.6 52.0 52.5 .7 1.4 Unemployed................................................... 379 394 458 464 84 22.3 Looking for full-time work............................... 275 274 351 341 65 23.8 Looking for part-time work............................... 104 120 107 123 19 18.4 Unemployment rate........................................ 10.0 10.6 11.8 11.8 1.8 17.5 Not in labor force............................................. 2,785 2,851 2,703 2,669 -116 -4.2 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 2004-2007 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Employment status, sex, race, and 2004 2005 2006 2007 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity TOTAL Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 36,415 36,681 36,989 37,443 Civilian labor force........................................... 24,465 24,436 24,664 24,339 Participation rate....................................... 67.2 66.6 66.7 65.0 Employed..................................................... 21,447 21,749 21,914 21,717 Employment-population ratio.............................. 58.9 59.3 59.2 58.0 Unemployed................................................... 3,018 2,688 2,750 2,622 Looking for full-time work............................... 2,212 1,916 2,028 1,892 Looking for part-time work............................... 806 771 722 730 Unemployment rate........................................ 12.3 11.0 11.2 10.8 Not in labor force............................................. 11,950 12,244 12,324 13,104 Men Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,356 18,501 18,675 18,926 Civilian labor force........................................... 12,925 12,871 13,024 12,845 Participation rate....................................... 70.4 69.6 69.7 67.9 Employed..................................................... 11,373 11,393 11,568 11,421 Employment-population ratio.............................. 62.0 61.6 61.9 60.3 Unemployed................................................... 1,552 1,478 1,456 1,424 Looking for full-time work............................... 1,176 1,077 1,152 1,059 Looking for part-time work............................... 377 401 303 365 Unemployment rate........................................ 12.0 11.5 11.2 11.1 Not in labor force............................................. 5,431 5,630 5,651 6,081 Women Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,059 18,180 18,314 18,517 Civilian labor force........................................... 11,540 11,566 11,641 11,494 Participation rate....................................... 63.9 63.6 63.6 62.1 Employed..................................................... 10,074 10,356 10,346 10,296 Employment-population ratio.............................. 55.8 57.0 56.5 55.6 Unemployed................................................... 1,465 1,209 1,295 1,198 Looking for full-time work............................... 1,036 839 876 833 Looking for part-time work............................... 429 370 419 365 Unemployment rate........................................ 12.7 10.5 11.1 10.4 Not in labor force............................................. 6,519 6,614 6,673 7,023 White Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 28,410 28,566 28,736 29,012 Civilian labor force........................................... 19,859 19,712 20,002 19,734 Participation rate....................................... 69.9 69.0 69.6 68.0 Employed..................................................... 17,848 17,944 18,193 17,899 Employment-population ratio.............................. 62.8 62.8 63.3 61.7 Unemployed................................................... 2,011 1,768 1,808 1,835 Looking for full-time work............................... 1,406 1,234 1,289 1,304 Looking for part-time work............................... 605 533 520 531 Unemployment rate........................................ 10.1 9.0 9.0 9.3 Not in labor force............................................. 8,551 8,854 8,735 9,278 Black or African American Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 5,245 5,317 5,426 5,539 Civilian labor force........................................... 3,029 3,097 3,133 2,998 Participation rate....................................... 57.7 58.3 57.7 54.1 Employed..................................................... 2,224 2,378 2,361 2,382 Employment-population ratio.............................. 42.4 44.7 43.5 43.0 Unemployed................................................... 804 719 772 616 Looking for full-time work............................... 666 544 617 488 Looking for part-time work............................... 138 176 155 128 Unemployment rate........................................ 26.6 23.2 24.7 20.5 Not in labor force............................................. 2,216 2,220 2,293 2,541 Asian Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 1,503 1,497 1,474 1,511 Civilian labor force........................................... 786 794 687 747 Participation rate....................................... 52.3 53.1 46.6 49.4 Employed..................................................... 719 699 631 689 Employment-population ratio.............................. 47.8 46.7 42.8 45.6 Unemployed................................................... 68 95 56 58 Looking for full-time work............................... 46 58 33 32 Looking for part-time work............................... 22 38 23 26 Unemployment rate........................................ 8.6 12.0 8.2 7.7 Not in labor force............................................. 716 702 787 764 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 6,275 6,335 6,406 6,597 Civilian labor force........................................... 3,926 3,800 3,943 3,928 Participation rate....................................... 62.6 60.0 61.5 59.5 Employed..................................................... 3,428 3,428 3,534 3,465 Employment-population ratio.............................. 54.6 54.1 55.2 52.5 Unemployed................................................... 498 372 409 464 Looking for full-time work............................... 373 292 287 341 Looking for part-time work............................... 125 80 122 123 Unemployment rate........................................ 12.7 9.8 10.4 11.8 Not in labor force............................................. 2,349 2,536 2,463 2,669 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 2006-2007 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Total White Black or African Asian Hispanic or American Latino ethnicity Industry and class of worker 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 Total employed.......................... 21,914 21,717 18,193 17,899 2,361 2,382 631 689 3,534 3,465 Agriculture and related industries.... 411 345 395 326 9 4 - 6 116 97 Nonagricultural industries............ 21,503 21,372 17,798 17,574 2,352 2,377 631 683 3,418 3,368 Private wage and salary workers..... 19,513 19,375 16,218 15,975 2,086 2,107 580 625 3,146 3,070 Mining............................ 67 97 62 91 - 4 1 - 20 10 Construction...................... 1,704 1,558 1,558 1,439 100 56 8 5 512 477 Manufacturing..................... 1,392 1,398 1,173 1,145 142 154 26 71 302 224 Durable goods................... 862 818 729 655 72 94 24 47 153 71 Nondurable goods................ 530 580 444 491 70 61 2 23 149 153 Wholesale trade................... 371 442 335 408 19 26 3 0 73 107 Retail trade...................... 4,548 4,242 3,678 3,456 565 505 156 132 562 589 Transportation and utilities...... 440 479 347 380 75 71 6 14 71 90 Information....................... 410 384 316 289 63 49 14 19 42 54 Financial activities.............. 959 980 740 784 129 108 51 57 114 171 Professional and business services 1,489 1,672 1,250 1,355 161 208 35 62 268 259 Education and health services..... 2,098 2,238 1,611 1,749 311 353 92 69 216 308 Leisure and hospitality........... 4,909 4,710 4,130 3,861 474 490 155 173 785 612 Other services.................... 1,127 1,174 1,018 1,019 48 82 32 23 181 168 Government.......................... 1,516 1,607 1,179 1,267 232 234 41 50 192 196 Federal........................... 198 171 133 127 43 25 6 13 25 16 State............................. 462 505 354 378 60 86 20 21 49 67 Local............................. 856 930 693 763 129 123 14 16 118 113 Self-employed and unpaid family workers............................ 474 390 401 332 34 36 11 9 81 102 - 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.