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The summer labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-olds was 60.2 percent in July 2023, little different from a year earlier (60.4 percent). After peaking at 77.5 percent in July 1989, the rate trended downward then ranged between 60.0 to 60.6 percent during 2012 to 2018. The rate increased to 61.8 percent in July 2019, but dropped to 57.3 percent following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Year | Total | Men | Women |
---|---|---|---|
July 1948 |
66.2 | 85.8 | 48.0 |
July 1949 |
66.2 | 85.8 | 48.2 |
July 1950 |
64.9 | 86.0 | 45.1 |
July 1951 |
65.8 | 85.8 | 49.5 |
July 1952 |
63.7 | 85.2 | 47.1 |
July 1953 |
62.2 | 82.8 | 46.7 |
July 1954 |
61.7 | 82.5 | 45.5 |
July 1955 |
62.8 | 83.2 | 46.5 |
July 1956 |
66.0 | 85.8 | 49.7 |
July 1957 |
66.0 | 86.1 | 49.2 |
July 1958 |
64.0 | 83.5 | 47.4 |
July 1959 |
63.1 | 82.9 | 45.8 |
July 1960 |
64.7 | 83.0 | 48.4 |
July 1961 |
64.1 | 81.5 | 48.4 |
July 1962 |
64.3 | 81.9 | 48.8 |
July 1963 |
63.6 | 81.1 | 48.1 |
July 1964 |
63.2 | 81.2 | 47.1 |
July 1965 |
65.3 | 83.2 | 49.2 |
July 1966 |
66.7 | 83.1 | 52.2 |
July 1967 |
67.7 | 83.8 | 53.8 |
July 1968 |
67.8 | 82.6 | 55.1 |
July 1969 |
68.6 | 82.5 | 56.6 |
July 1970 |
68.7 | 82.2 | 56.8 |
July 1971 |
68.9 | 81.8 | 57.1 |
July 1972 |
70.2 | 82.3 | 58.9 |
July 1973 |
71.9 | 84.2 | 60.3 |
July 1974 |
73.2 | 84.3 | 62.6 |
July 1975 |
73.0 | 83.5 | 63.1 |
July 1976 |
74.1 | 83.8 | 64.9 |
July 1977 |
74.7 | 84.5 | 65.2 |
July 1978 |
76.5 | 85.0 | 68.4 |
July 1979 |
76.6 | 85.0 | 68.4 |
July 1980 |
76.3 | 84.4 | 68.5 |
July 1981 |
75.3 | 82.7 | 68.0 |
July 1982 |
74.7 | 81.2 | 68.5 |
July 1983 |
75.6 | 83.0 | 68.4 |
July 1984 |
76.3 | 82.5 | 70.3 |
July 1985 |
76.5 | 82.8 | 70.3 |
July 1986 |
76.7 | 82.9 | 70.6 |
July 1987 |
76.3 | 81.4 | 71.3 |
July 1988 |
76.9 | 82.5 | 71.4 |
July 1989 |
77.5 | 82.8 | 72.4 |
July 1990 |
75.1 | 80.8 | 69.5 |
July 1991 |
73.6 | 79.6 | 67.6 |
July 1992 |
74.6 | 79.8 | 69.5 |
July 1993 |
74.5 | 79.5 | 69.5 |
July 1994 |
74.1 | 78.8 | 69.4 |
July 1995 |
74.3 | 79.3 | 69.3 |
July 1996 |
73.3 | 78.3 | 68.3 |
July 1997 |
73.0 | 76.5 | 69.4 |
July 1998 |
72.8 | 76.3 | 69.3 |
July 1999 |
72.6 | 76.0 | 69.1 |
July 2000 |
71.6 | 75.2 | 68.1 |
July 2001 |
70.7 | 74.1 | 67.2 |
July 2002 |
69.5 | 72.3 | 66.6 |
July 2003 |
67.3 | 70.0 | 64.5 |
July 2004 |
67.2 | 70.4 | 63.9 |
July 2005 |
66.6 | 69.6 | 63.6 |
July 2006 |
66.7 | 69.7 | 63.6 |
July 2007 |
65.0 | 67.9 | 62.1 |
July 2008 |
65.1 | 68.1 | 62.1 |
July 2009 |
63.0 | 64.9 | 61.1 |
July 2010 |
60.5 | 62.7 | 58.1 |
July 2011 |
59.5 | 61.4 | 57.6 |
July 2012 |
60.5 | 63.2 | 57.8 |
July 2013 |
60.5 | 62.7 | 58.2 |
July 2014 |
60.5 | 63.2 | 57.8 |
July 2015 |
60.0 | 61.8 | 58.2 |
July 2016 |
60.1 | 62.4 | 57.7 |
July 2017 |
60.6 | 62.3 | 58.8 |
July 2018 |
60.6 | 61.1 | 60.0 |
July 2019 |
61.8 | 63.2 | 60.4 |
July 2020 |
57.3 | 58.4 | 56.2 |
July 2021 |
60.5 | 61.8 | 59.1 |
July 2022 |
60.4 | 61.7 | 59.2 |
July 2023 |
60.2 | 60.4 | 60.0 |
The labor force participation rate for young men declined to 60.4 percent in July 2023, while the rate for young women was little different from a year earlier, at 60.0 percent. This narrowed the gap to 0.4 percentage point in the summer of 2023, the smallest difference since the series began. The gap between the rates for young men and young women was at its widest at 40.9 percentage points in July 1950.
Industry | Employed persons, 16 to 24 years of age |
---|---|
Leisure and hospitality |
5,344,000 |
Retail trade |
3,800,000 |
Education and health services |
2,712,000 |
Professional and business services |
1,835,000 |
Manufacturing |
1,465,000 |
Construction |
1,329,000 |
Other services |
1,047,000 |
Transportation and utilities |
840,000 |
Local government |
697,000 |
Financial activities |
649,000 |
State government |
441,000 |
Self-employed, unincorporated, and unpaid family workers |
428,000 |
Agriculture and related industries |
345,000 |
Wholesale trade |
250,000 |
Federal government |
205,000 |
Information |
189,000 |
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction |
47,000 |
The leisure and hospitality industry had 5.3 million young workers in July 2023, and employed the largest share of workers ages 16- to 24-years old (25 percent). Retail trade employed the second most young workers at 18 percent of youth employment, and 13 percent were employed in education and health services.
The labor force participation rate is the labor force (those employed, on temporary layoff, or looking and available for work) as a percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population. These data are from the Current Population Survey and not seasonally adjusted. For more information, see “Employment and Unemployment among Youth — Summer 2023”.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 60.2 percent of youth participated in the labor force in July 2023 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/60-2-percent-of-youth-participated-in-the-labor-force-in-july-2023.htm (visited October 31, 2024).