Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 99-234 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 606-5902 Thursday, August 26, 1999 EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 1999 The number of employed youth increased by 2.8 million from April to July, the traditional summertime peak for youth employment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This year's seasonal expansion in employment of 16- to 24-year-olds was slightly larger than the 2.5 million increase in the summer of 1998, but about the same as the summer increase in 1997. The number of unemployed young people, which also grows at this time of year, rose by 484,000 between April and July. (Because the focus of this analysis is the seasonal changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur every spring and summer, the data are not seasonally adjusted.) Labor Force The 16- to 24-year-old labor force--those working or actively looking for work--grows sharply between April and July of each year, as large numbers of high school and college students take or search for summer jobs. In addition, many recent graduates begin or look for year-round jobs. This summer, the youth labor force rose by 3.3 million, to a total of 24.7 million in July. (See table 1.) The April-to-July increase has been about this size in every year since 1994. The labor force participation rate for youth--the proportion of the youth population working or looking for work--was 72.6 percent in July. This number has been trending downward over the last 10 years; it was 77.5 percent in 1989. This July, the participation rate was 76.0 percent for young men, 69.1 percent for young women, 75.3 percent for young whites, and 63.5 percent for young blacks. (See table 2.) Employment A total of 22.2 million youth were employed this July, 65.2 percent of the population age 16 to 24. The employment-population ratios for young men (68.2 percent), women (62.3 percent), whites (69.1 percent), and blacks (49.6 percent) were essentially the same as a year earlier. About 7 in 8 employed youth were wage and salary workers in the private sector this July, the same as last year. About 70 percent of these workers were employed in either retail trade (7.6 million) or services (6.1 million). Government employed a total of 1.5 million young people in July 1999, the same as a year earlier. Nearly 3 in 5 of the young people with government jobs were employed by local governments. (See table 3.) - 2 - Unemployment About 2.5 million 16- to 24-year-olds were unemployed in July--that is, they were not working, were actively looking for work, and were available to take a job. The youth unemployment rate was 10.1 percent. The summer youth unemployment rate has been trending down since 1996. In July 1999, jobless rates were 10.3 percent for young men, 9.9 percent for young women, 8.1 percent for white youth, and 21.9 percent for black youth. The summer jobless rates for these demographic groups were little changed from a year earlier. Technical Note The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national sample survey of 50,000 households conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the Bureau of the Census. The data in this release relate to the employment status of youth (16- to 24-year-old) 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 traditionally the peak summer month of youth employment. Beginning in January 1999, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 1999" in the February 1999 issue of Employment and Earnings. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-326-2577. 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 depending 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 information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues 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 personal 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 reference 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 population 16 to 24 years of age by sex and race, April-July 1999 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | April-July changes ___________________ Employment status, sex, and race | April | May | June | July | | | | | | Number | Percent | | | | | | ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ TOTAL Civilian noninstitutional population................... 33,953 34,014 33,910 34,000 47 0.1 Civilian labor force................................. 21,411 22,028 23,825 24,672 3,262 15.2 Participation rate............................. 63.1 64.8 70.3 72.6 9.5 15.1 Employed........................................... 19,400 19,902 21,177 22,178 2,778 14.3 Employment-population ratio (1)................ 57.1 58.5 62.4 65.2 8.1 14.2 Unemployed......................................... 2,010 2,127 2,649 2,494 484 24.1 Looking for full-time work....................... 1,215 1,441 1,883 1,888 673 55.4 Looking for part-time work....................... 796 686 766 607 -189 -23.8 Unemployment rate................................ 9.4 9.7 11.1 10.1 .7 7.7 Not in labor force................................... 12,542 11,985 10,085 9,327 -3,215 -25.6 Men Civilian noninstitutional population................... 17,012 17,064 17,021 17,076 64 .4 Civilian labor force................................. 10,958 11,522 12,524 12,975 2,017 18.4 Participation rate............................. 64.4 67.5 73.6 76.0 11.6 18.0 Employed........................................... 9,860 10,369 11,105 11,638 1,778 18.0 Employment-population ratio (1)................ 58.0 60.8 65.2 68.2 10.2 17.6 Unemployed......................................... 1,098 1,154 1,419 1,337 239 21.8 Looking for full-time work....................... 697 795 1,024 1,053 356 51.1 Looking for part-time work....................... 401 359 396 284 -117 -29.2 Unemployment rate................................ 10.0 10.0 11.3 10.3 .3 2.8 Not in labor force................................... 6,055 5,542 4,496 4,102 -1,953 -32.3 Women Civilian noninstitutional population................... 16,940 16,950 16,889 16,923 -17 -.1 Civilian labor force................................. 10,453 10,506 11,301 11,697 1,244 11.9 Participation rate............................. 61.7 62.0 66.9 69.1 7.4 12.0 Employed........................................... 9,540 9,533 10,072 10,540 1,000 10.5 Employment-population ratio (1)................ 56.3 56.2 59.6 62.3 6.0 10.6 Unemployed......................................... 913 973 1,229 1,157 245 26.8 Looking for full-time work....................... 518 646 859 834 317 61.3 Looking for part-time work....................... 395 328 371 323 -72 -18.3 Unemployment rate................................ 8.7 9.3 10.9 9.9 1.2 13.3 Not in labor force................................... 6,488 6,444 5,588 5,226 -1,262 -19.4 White Civilian noninstitutional population................... 27,004 27,052 27,094 27,138 134 .5 Civilian labor force................................. 17,778 18,258 19,791 20,425 2,647 14.9 Participation rate............................. 65.8 67.5 73.0 75.3 9.4 14.3 Employed........................................... 16,329 16,704 17,873 18,763 2,434 14.9 Employment-population ratio (1)................ 60.5 61.7 66.0 69.1 8.7 14.3 Unemployed......................................... 1,449 1,554 1,918 1,662 213 14.7 Looking for full-time work....................... 847 1,029 1,330 1,244 397 46.9 Looking for part-time work....................... 602 526 588 417 -184 -30.6 Unemployment rate................................ 8.2 8.5 9.7 8.1 .0 -.2 Not in labor force................................... 9,227 8,793 7,303 6,713 -2,514 -27.2 Black Civilian noninstitutional population................... 5,075 5,084 5,093 5,102 27 .5 Civilian labor force................................. 2,634 2,789 3,080 3,242 608 23.1 Participation rate............................. 51.9 54.8 60.5 63.5 11.6 22.4 Employed........................................... 2,178 2,313 2,472 2,532 354 16.2 Employment-population ratio (1)................ 42.9 45.5 48.5 49.6 6.7 15.6 Unemployed......................................... 456 475 607 709 254 55.7 Looking for full-time work....................... 313 347 470 581 268 85.6 Looking for part-time work....................... 143 129 138 128 -14 -10.0 Unemployment rate................................ 17.3 17.0 19.7 21.9 4.6 26.5 Not in labor force................................... 2,441 2,296 2,014 1,860 -581 -23.8 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population. NOTE: Beginning in January 1999, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Table 2. Employment status of the civilian population 16 to 24 years of age by sex and race, July 1996-99 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | Employment status, sex, and race | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ TOTAL Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 32,310 32,803 33,266 34,000 Civilian labor force........................................... 23,677 23,931 24,225 24,672 Participation rate....................................... 73.3 73.0 72.8 72.6 Employed..................................................... 20,702 21,197 21,599 22,178 Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 64.1 64.6 64.9 65.2 Unemployed................................................... 2,975 2,734 2,626 2,494 Looking for full-time work................................. 2,136 2,005 1,910 1,888 Looking for part-time work................................. 839 729 716 607 Unemployment rate.......................................... 12.6 11.4 10.8 10.1 Not in labor force............................................. 8,633 8,872 9,041 9,327 Men Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 16,179 16,548 16,779 17,076 Civilian labor force........................................... 12,667 12,653 12,807 12,975 Participation rate....................................... 78.3 76.5 76.3 76.0 Employed..................................................... 11,023 11,207 11,370 11,638 Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 68.1 67.7 67.8 68.2 Unemployed................................................... 1,644 1,446 1,436 1,337 Looking for full-time work................................. 1,182 1,094 1,083 1,053 Looking for part-time work................................. 462 352 353 284 Unemployment rate.......................................... 13.0 11.4 11.2 10.3 Not in labor force............................................. 3,512 3,894 3,973 4,102 Women Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 16,131 16,256 16,487 16,923 Civilian labor force........................................... 11,010 11,278 11,418 11,697 Participation rate....................................... 68.3 69.4 69.3 69.1 Employed..................................................... 9,678 9,990 10,228 10,540 Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 60.0 61.5 62.0 62.3 Unemployed................................................... 1,331 1,289 1,190 1,157 Looking for full-time work................................. 954 912 827 834 Looking for part-time work................................. 377 377 363 323 Unemployment rate.......................................... 12.1 11.4 10.4 9.9 Not in labor force............................................. 5,121 4,977 5,068 5,226 White Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 25,729 26,159 26,606 27,138 Civilian labor force........................................... 19,644 19,901 20,028 20,425 Participation rate....................................... 76.4 76.1 75.3 75.3 Employed..................................................... 17,584 17,992 18,343 18,763 Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 68.3 68.8 68.9 69.1 Unemployed................................................... 2,060 1,909 1,685 1,662 Looking for full-time work................................. 1,428 1,412 1,178 1,244 Looking for part-time work................................. 632 497 507 417 Unemployment rate.......................................... 10.5 9.6 8.4 8.1 Not in labor force............................................. 6,085 6,258 6,578 6,713 Black Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 4,883 4,958 4,993 5,102 Civilian labor force........................................... 3,026 3,030 3,216 3,242 Participation rate....................................... 62.0 61.1 64.4 63.5 Employed..................................................... 2,258 2,347 2,419 2,532 Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 46.2 47.3 48.4 49.6 Unemployed................................................... 768 684 797 709 Looking for full-time work................................. 617 500 636 581 Looking for part-time work................................. 151 183 161 128 Unemployment rate.......................................... 25.4 22.6 24.8 21.9 Not in labor force............................................. 1,858 1,927 1,777 1,860 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population. NOTE: Beginning in January 1999, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Table 3. Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, and race, July 1998-99 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | Total | White | Black ___________________________________________________________ Industry and class of worker | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1998 | 1999 | 1998 | 1999 | 1998 | 1999 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Total employed................................... 21,599 22,178 18,343 18,763 2,419 2,532 Agriculture ......................................... 803 763 756 728 30 16 Nonagricultural industries........................... 20,796 21,415 17,586 18,035 2,389 2,516 Private wage and salary workers.................... 18,927 19,498 16,074 16,436 2,109 2,299 Mining........................................... 57 51 53 51 4 - Construction..................................... 1,161 1,310 1,088 1,208 49 67 Manufacturing.................................... 2,188 2,020 1,812 1,668 278 253 Transportation and public utilities.............. 821 828 711 662 90 134 Wholesale trade.................................. 657 650 594 598 45 28 Retail trade..................................... 7,377 7,566 6,279 6,535 840 766 Finance, insurance, and real estate.............. 890 1,008 733 784 102 176 Services......................................... 5,778 6,064 4,803 4,930 700 874 Government......................................... 1,484 1,526 1,163 1,232 254 200 Federal.......................................... 178 180 138 140 32 25 State............................................ 464 463 338 376 103 59 Local............................................ 842 882 687 717 119 116 Self-employed and unpaid family workers............ 384 392 349 366 26 18 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Beginning in January 1999, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Dash represents zero.