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From April to July 2015, the youth labor force grew by 2.7 million, or 13.5 percent, to a total of 23.2 million in July. The youth labor force—16- to 24-year-olds working or actively looking for work—grows sharply between April and July each year. During these months, large numbers of high school and college students search for or take summer jobs, and many graduates enter the labor market to look for or begin permanent employment.
Over the same period, the number of employed 16- to 24-year-olds increased by 2.1 million to 20.3 million. This increase is in line with the increase for the prior 3 summers. The month of July typically is the summertime peak in youth employment.
Civilian labor force and employment of 16- to 24-year-olds, not seasonally adjusted, January 2010–July 2015
Month
Employment level
Labor force level
Jan 2010
16,166,000
20,149,000
Feb 2010
16,412,000
20,300,000
Mar 2010
16,587,000
20,335,000
Apr 2010
16,764,000
20,567,000
May 2010
17,039,000
20,894,000
Jun 2010
17,920,000
22,401,000
Jul 2010
18,564,000
22,938,000
Aug 2010
18,061,000
21,964,000
Sep 2010
16,874,000
20,478,000
Oct 2010
16,867,000
20,598,000
Nov 2010
16,946,000
20,507,000
Dec 2010
16,727,000
20,079,000
Jan 2011
16,512,000
20,363,000
Feb 2011
16,638,000
20,335,000
Mar 2011
16,898,000
20,418,000
Apr 2011
16,970,000
20,335,000
May 2011
17,045,000
20,673,000
Jun 2011
18,180,000
22,428,000
Jul 2011
18,632,000
22,742,000
Aug 2011
18,067,000
21,887,000
Sep 2011
17,238,000
20,779,000
Oct 2011
17,532,000
20,918,000
Nov 2011
17,402,000
20,689,000
Dec 2011
17,234,000
20,395,000
Jan 2012
16,944,000
20,360,000
Feb 2012
17,150,000
20,658,000
Mar 2012
17,301,000
20,594,000
Apr 2012
17,387,000
20,562,000
May 2012
17,681,000
21,118,000
Jun 2012
18,907,000
23,086,000
Jul 2012
19,461,000
23,472,000
Aug 2012
18,171,000
21,842,000
Sep 2012
17,687,000
20,861,000
Oct 2012
17,842,000
21,127,000
Nov 2012
17,877,000
20,979,000
Dec 2012
17,604,000
20,757,000
Jan 2013
17,183,000
20,857,000
Feb 2013
17,257,000
20,707,000
Mar 2013
17,271,000
20,532,000
Apr 2013
17,593,000
20,721,000
May 2013
17,704,000
21,181,000
Jun 2013
19,125,000
23,322,000
Jul 2013
19,684,000
23,506,000
Aug 2013
18,636,000
22,089,000
Sep 2013
18,043,000
21,183,000
Oct 2013
17,976,000
21,003,000
Nov 2013
18,104,000
20,825,000
Dec 2013
18,106,000
20,642,000
Jan 2014
17,372,000
20,423,000
Feb 2014
17,357,000
20,390,000
Mar 2014
17,939,000
20,941,000
Apr 2014
18,021,000
20,461,000
May 2014
18,329,000
21,160,000
Jun 2014
19,421,000
22,851,000
Jul 2014
20,085,000
23,437,000
Aug 2014
18,972,000
21,816,000
Sep 2014
18,104,000
20,959,000
Oct 2014
18,781,000
21,403,000
Nov 2014
18,576,000
21,034,000
Dec 2014
18,347,000
20,664,000
Jan 2015
17,912,000
20,555,000
Feb 2015
18,222,000
20,751,000
Mar 2015
18,076,000
20,600,000
Apr 2015
18,241,000
20,416,000
May 2015
18,709,000
21,342,000
Jun 2015
19,789,000
22,926,000
Jul 2015
20,333,000
23,162,000
The labor force participation rate for all youth was 60.0 percent in July 2015, little changed from a year earlier. The summer labor force participation rate of youth has held fairly steady since July 2010, after generally trending downward for many years. The summer youth labor force participation rate peaked at 77.5 percent in July 1989.
Labor force participation rates of 16- to 24-year-olds, not seasonally adjusted, July 1989–2015
Month
Rate
Jul 1989
77.5
Jul 1990
75.1
Jul 1991
73.6
Jul 1992
74.6
Jul 1993
74.5
Jul 1994
74.1
Jul 1995
74.3
Jul 1996
73.3
Jul 1997
73.0
Jul 1998
72.8
Jul 1999
72.6
Jul 2000
71.6
Jul 2001
70.7
Jul 2002
69.5
Jul 2003
67.3
Jul 2004
67.2
Jul 2005
66.6
Jul 2006
66.7
Jul 2007
65.0
Jul 2008
65.1
Jul 2009
63.0
Jul 2010
60.5
Jul 2011
59.5
Jul 2012
60.5
Jul 2013
60.5
Jul 2014
60.5
Jul 2015
60.0
These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see "Employment and Unemployment among Youth — Summer 2015" (HTML) (PDF)". Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur each spring and summer, the data are not seasonally adjusted. The labor force participation rate is the proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population that is working or looking and available for work.
United States Department of Labor
