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Youth labor force participation rate at 60.4 percent in July 2024
September 03, 2024
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. In July 2024, the youth labor force participation rate was 60.4 percent, little different from a year earlier (60.2 percent). 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 in July, 1989–2024
Month
Total
Men
Women
Jul 1989
77.5
82.8
72.4
Jul 1990
75.1
80.8
69.5
Jul 1991
73.6
79.6
67.6
Jul 1992
74.6
79.8
69.5
Jul 1993
74.5
79.5
69.5
Jul 1994
74.1
78.8
69.4
Jul 1995
74.3
79.3
69.3
Jul 1996
73.3
78.3
68.3
Jul 1997
73.0
76.5
69.4
Jul 1998
72.8
76.3
69.3
Jul 1999
72.6
76.0
69.1
Jul 2000
71.6
75.2
68.1
Jul 2001
70.7
74.1
67.2
Jul 2002
69.5
72.3
66.6
Jul 2003
67.3
70.0
64.5
Jul 2004
67.2
70.4
63.9
Jul 2005
66.6
69.6
63.6
Jul 2006
66.7
69.7
63.6
Jul 2007
65.0
67.9
62.1
Jul 2008
65.1
68.1
62.1
Jul 2009
63.0
64.9
61.1
Jul 2010
60.5
62.7
58.1
Jul 2011
59.5
61.4
57.6
Jul 2012
60.5
63.2
57.8
Jul 2013
60.5
62.7
58.2
Jul 2014
60.5
63.2
57.8
Jul 2015
60.0
61.8
58.2
Jul 2016
60.1
62.4
57.7
Jul 2017
60.6
62.3
58.8
Jul 2018
60.6
61.1
60.0
Jul 2019
61.8
63.2
60.4
Jul 2020
57.3
58.4
56.2
Jul 2021
60.5
61.8
59.1
Jul 2022
60.4
61.7
59.2
Jul 2023
60.2
60.4
60.0
Jul 2024
60.4
61.2
59.6
The July 2024 labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-old men was 61.2 percent and the rate for young women was 59.6 percent. Since 1989, the July labor force participation rate for young men has trended downward, falling by 21.6 percentage points. The participation rate for young women has fallen by 12.8 percentage points during the same period. Since 1989, the labor force participation gap between young men and women has narrowed considerably.
These data are from the Current Population Survey and are not seasonally adjusted. For more information, see “Employment and Unemployment among Youth — Summer 2024”. The labor force participation rate is the labor force (those classified as either employed or unemployed) as a percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population.
United States Department of Labor
