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One in four employed youth worked in leisure and hospitality in July 2026

September 22, 2026

There were 21.3 million employed 16- to 24-year-olds in July 2026. The largest share (25 percent, or 5.3 million) worked in the leisure and hospitality industry, which includes arts, entertainment, and recreation as well as accommodation and food services. An additional 18 percent (3.7 million) of employed youth worked in the retail trade industry, and 14 percent (2.9 million) worked in education and health services.

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Chart Data

Employed people 16 to 24 years of age by industry, July 2026
Industry
Total employed	21,320,000
Agriculture and related industries	257,000
Nonagricultural industries	21,063,000
Private wage and salary workers	19,039,000
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction	31,000
Construction	1,289,000
Manufacturing	1,201,000
Wholesale trade	250,000
Retail trade	3,732,000
Transportation and utilities	763,000
Information	270,000
Financial activities	585,000
Professional and business services	1,806,000
Education and health services	2,944,000
Leisure and hospitality	5,300,000
Other services	867,000
Government wage and salary workers	1,404,000
Federal government	194,000
State government	445,000
Local government	765,000
Self-employed, unincorporated, and unpaid family workers	621,000
Note: Data are not seasonally adjusted.

Youth employment across industries varied slightly by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. In July 2026, leisure and hospitality represented the largest industry for young workers who are White (25 percent), Black (23 percent), or Hispanic (25 percent); while retail trade represented the second-largest share for all these groups. By contrast, the shares of Asian youth employment were highest in education and health services (22 percent) and in leisure and hospitality (20 percent).

These data are from the Current Population Survey. Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur each summer, the data are not seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "Employment and Unemployment among Youth — Summer 2026."

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, One in four employed youth worked in leisure and hospitality in July 2026 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2026/one-in-four-employed-youth-worked-in-leisure-and-hospitality-in-july-2026.htm (visited September 22, 2026).

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