Full text of Summer 2004 : Text File, USDL - 04-1590
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Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 04-1590
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, August 18, 2004
EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 2004
From April to July 2004, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old
increased by 2.3 million to 21.4 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. July is the traditional summer-
time peak for youth employment. This summer's increase in youth employment
was slightly larger than last year's 2.1 million increase. Unemployment
among youth rose by 631,000 between April and July 2004, about the same
amount as in the prior year. (Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal
changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur every spring and sum-
mer, the data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Labor Force
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 take or search
for summer jobs, and many graduates enter the labor market to look for or
begin permanent employment. This summer, the youth labor force grew by
2.9 million to a total of 24.5 million in July. (See table 1.)
The July labor force participation rate for youth (the proportion of
their population working or looking for work) in 2004 (67.2 percent) was
essentially the same as in July 2003 (67.3 percent)--the lowest rates for
July since 1966. The proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds enrolled in school
in July has grown over the last decade--from 16.3 percent in 1994 to 28.9
percent in 2004--and participation rates for students are typically lower
than for non-students. Only about half of the youth enrolled in school
were in the labor force in July, compared with about three-fourths of
those not in school.
The July 2004 labor force participation rate for young men (70.4 percent)
was about the same as in July 2003. In contrast, the participation rate for
young women continued to move downward, to 63.9 percent in July 2004, the low-
est level since 1975. This July's labor force participation rates for whites
(69.9 percent), blacks (57.7 percent), Asians (52.3 percent), and Hispanics
or Latinos (62.6 percent) were little changed over the year. (See table 2.)
Employment
There were 21.4 million 16- to 24-year-olds employed in July 2004. The
employment-population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-year-
old civilian noninstitutional population that was employed--at 58.9 percent,
was about unchanged from July 2003. The ratio had fallen by 6.3 percentage
points between July 1999 and July 2002. In July 2004, the ratio for young
men edged up by 1.9 percentage points to 62.0 percent. The employment-popu-
lation ratios for young women (55.8 percent), young whites (62.8 percent),
young blacks (42.4 percent), young Asians (47.8 percent), and young Hispanics
or Latinos (54.6 percent) were little changed from a year earlier.
In July 2004, 22 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and
hospitality industry and 19 percent worked in retail trade. In addition,
- 2 -
large percentages of employed youth worked in education and health services,
professional and business services, construction, manufacturing, and govern-
ment. (See table 3.)
Unemployment
In July 2004, 3.0 million youth were unemployed. The youth unemployment
rate--12.3 percent--was down from 13.3 percent in July 2003. The July 2004
unemployment rate for young men (12.0 percent) was lower than a year earlier.
The jobless rates for young women (12.7 percent), young whites (10.1 percent),
young blacks (26.6 percent), young Asians (8.6 percent), and young Hispanics
or Latinos (12.7 percent) showed little or no change from a year earlier.
(See table 2.)
Technical Note
The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population
Survey (CPS), a national sample survey of 60,000 households conducted month-
ly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau. The
data in this release relate to the employment status of youth (16- to 24-year-
olds) during the months of April-July. This period was selected as being the
most representative time frame in which to measure the full summertime tran-
sition from school to work. July is the peak summer month of youth employment.
Beginning in January 2004, data reflect revised population controls used
in the CPS. For a discussion of the introduction of the revised population
controls and the impact that their introduction had on the CPS data, see
"Adjustments to Household Survey Population Estimates in January 2004" in
the February 2004 issue of Employment and Earnings and available at
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps04adj.pdf on the BLS Web site.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone: 1-800-877-8339.
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 de-
pending 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 infor-
mation, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and infor-
mation on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Esti-
mates of Error" section 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 per-
sonal 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 ref-
erence 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 noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, April-July 2004
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
April-July
Employment status, sex, race, and changes(1)
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity April May June July
Number Percent
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population................. 36,370 36,383 36,399 36,415 45 0.1
Civilian labor force............................... 21,571 21,921 23,778 24,465 2,894 13.4
Participation rate........................... 59.3 60.2 65.3 67.2 7.9 13.3
Employed......................................... 19,184 19,237 20,587 21,447 2,263 11.8
Employment-population ratio ................. 52.7 52.9 56.6 58.9 6.1 11.7
Unemployed....................................... 2,387 2,684 3,191 3,018 631 26.5
Looking for full-time work..................... 1,543 1,895 2,303 2,212 669 43.3
Looking for part-time work..................... 843 789 888 806 -37 -4.4
Unemployment rate.............................. 11.1 12.2 13.4 12.3 1.3 11.5
Not in labor force................................. 14,800 14,463 12,622 11,950 -2,849 -19.3
Men
Civilian noninstitutional population................. 18,330 18,338 18,347 18,356 27 .1
Civilian labor force............................... 11,272 11,356 12,521 12,925 1,653 14.7
Participation rate........................... 61.5 61.9 68.2 70.4 8.9 14.5
Employed......................................... 9,885 9,893 10,807 11,373 1,488 15.1
Employment-population ratio ................. 53.9 54.0 58.9 62.0 8.0 14.9
Unemployed....................................... 1,387 1,463 1,714 1,552 165 11.9
Looking for full-time work..................... 938 1,058 1,258 1,176 238 25.4
Looking for part-time work..................... 450 405 456 377 -73 -16.3
Unemployment rate.............................. 12.3 12.9 13.7 12.0 -.3 -2.4
Not in labor force................................. 7,057 6,982 5,826 5,431 -1,626 -23.0
Women
Civilian noninstitutional population................. 18,041 18,046 18,052 18,059 18 .1
Civilian labor force............................... 10,298 10,565 11,257 11,540 1,241 12.1
Participation rate........................... 57.1 58.5 62.4 63.9 6.8 11.9
Employed......................................... 9,299 9,343 9,780 10,074 775 8.3
Employment-population ratio ................. 51.5 51.8 54.2 55.8 4.2 8.2
Unemployed....................................... 999 1,221 1,477 1,465 466 46.7
Looking for full-time work..................... 606 837 1,045 1,036 430 71.0
Looking for part-time work..................... 393 384 432 429 36 9.1
Unemployment rate.............................. 9.7 11.6 13.1 12.7 3.0 30.9
Not in labor force................................. 7,742 7,481 6,795 6,519 -1,223 -15.8
White
Civilian noninstitutional population................. 28,390 28,395 28,403 28,410 20 0.1
Civilian labor force............................... 17,676 17,882 19,421 19,859 2,184 12.4
Participation rate........................... 62.3 63.0 68.4 69.9 7.6 12.3
Employed......................................... 15,953 15,977 17,174 17,848 1,895 11.9
Employment-population ratio ................. 56.2 56.3 60.5 62.8 6.6 11.8
Unemployed....................................... 1,723 1,905 2,246 2,011 288 16.7
Looking for full-time work..................... 1,056 1,296 1,567 1,406 349 33.1
Looking for part-time work..................... 667 609 679 605 -61 -9.2
Unemployment rate.............................. 9.7 10.7 11.6 10.1 .4 3.9
Not in labor force................................. 10,714 10,513 8,982 8,551 -2,164 -20.2
Black or African American
Civilian noninstitutional population................. 5,231 5,235 5,240 5,245 14 .3
Civilian labor force............................... 2,462 2,619 2,799 3,029 566 23.0
Participation rate........................... 47.1 50.0 53.4 57.7 10.7 22.7
Employed......................................... 1,991 2,017 2,085 2,224 233 11.7
Employment-population ratio ................. 38.1 38.5 39.8 42.4 4.3 11.4
Unemployed....................................... 471 603 714 804 333 70.7
Looking for full-time work..................... 360 471 568 666 306 85.0
Looking for part-time work..................... 111 132 146 138 27 24.5
Unemployment rate.............................. 19.1 23.0 25.5 26.6 7.4 38.8
Not in labor force................................. 2,768 2,616 2,440 2,216 -552 -20.0
Asian
Civilian noninstitutional population................. 1,477 1,472 1,506 1,503 26 1.7
Civilian labor force............................... 704 683 779 786 83 11.7
Participation rate........................... 47.6 46.4 51.7 52.3 4.7 9.8
Employed......................................... 641 628 668 719 78 12.2
Employment-population ratio ................. 43.4 42.6 44.4 47.8 4.4 10.2
Unemployed....................................... 63 56 111 68 5 7.3
Looking for full-time work..................... 49 51 79 46 -3 -5.8
Looking for part-time work..................... 14 4 32 22 7 53.0
Unemployment rate.............................. 9.0 8.1 14.2 8.6 -.4 -3.9
Not in labor force................................. 773 789 727 716 -57 -7.3
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Civilian noninstitutional population................. 6,255 6,262 6,268 6,275 19 .3
Civilian labor force............................... 3,643 3,689 3,810 3,926 283 7.8
Participation rate........................... 58.2 58.9 60.8 62.6 4.3 7.4
Employed......................................... 3,235 3,263 3,377 3,428 194 6.0
Employment-population ratio ................. 51.7 52.1 53.9 54.6 2.9 5.7
Unemployed....................................... 408 425 433 498 90 22.0
Looking for full-time work..................... 307 338 340 373 66 21.5
Looking for part-time work..................... 101 87 93 125 24 23.7
Unemployment rate.............................. 11.2 11.5 11.4 12.7 1.5 13.2
Not in labor force................................. 2,613 2,573 2,458 2,349 -264 -10.1
1 Changes are calculated using unrounded data.
NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals
because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or
Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data reflect revised
population controls introduced in January 2004.
Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2001-04
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Employment status, sex, race, and 2001 2002 2003 2004
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population...................... 34,846 35,322 35,905 36,415
Civilian labor force.................................... 24,627 24,536 24,150 24,465
Participation rate................................ 70.7 69.5 67.3 67.2
Employed.............................................. 22,042 21,501 20,950 21,447
Employment-population ratio ...................... 63.3 60.9 58.3 58.9
Unemployed............................................ 2,585 3,034 3,200 3,018
Looking for full-time work.......................... 1,898 2,250 2,448 2,212
Looking for part-time work.......................... 687 785 753 806
Unemployment rate................................... 10.5 12.4 13.3 12.3
Not in labor force...................................... 10,219 10,786 11,755 11,950
Men
Civilian noninstitutional population...................... 17,468 17,758 18,042 18,356
Civilian labor force.................................... 12,950 12,837 12,635 12,925
Participation rate................................ 74.1 72.3 70.0 70.4
Employed.............................................. 11,576 11,231 10,838 11,373
Employment-population ratio ...................... 66.3 63.2 60.1 62.0
Unemployed............................................ 1,374 1,606 1,796 1,552
Looking for full-time work.......................... 1,051 1,172 1,416 1,176
Looking for part-time work.......................... 322 434 381 377
Unemployment rate................................... 10.6 12.5 14.2 12.0
Not in labor force...................................... 4,518 4,921 5,407 5,431
Women
Civilian noninstitutional population...................... 17,378 17,563 17,863 18,059
Civilian labor force.................................... 11,677 11,699 11,516 11,540
Participation rate................................ 67.2 66.6 64.5 63.9
Employed.............................................. 10,466 10,271 10,112 10,074
Employment-population ratio ...................... 60.2 58.5 56.6 55.8
Unemployed............................................ 1,211 1,428 1,404 1,465
Looking for full-time work.......................... 846 1,077 1,032 1,036
Looking for part-time work.......................... 364 351 372 429
Unemployment rate................................... 10.4 12.2 12.2 12.7
Not in labor force...................................... 5,701 5,865 6,348 6,519
White (1)
Civilian noninstitutional population...................... 27,570 27,959 28,066 28,410
Civilian labor force.................................... 20,324 20,262 19,749 19,859
Participation rate................................ 73.7 72.5 70.4 69.9
Employed.............................................. 18,508 18,092 17,566 17,848
Employment-population ratio ...................... 67.1 64.7 62.6 62.8
Unemployed............................................ 1,816 2,169 2,182 2,011
Looking for full-time work.......................... 1,323 1,566 1,611 1,406
Looking for part-time work.......................... 494 604 571 605
Unemployment rate................................... 8.9 10.7 11.1 10.1
Not in labor force...................................... 7,246 7,697 8,317 8,551
Black or African American (1)
Civilian noninstitutional population...................... 5,078 5,199 5,159 5,245
Civilian labor force.................................... 3,074 2,989 2,930 3,029
Participation rate................................ 60.5 57.5 56.8 57.7
Employed.............................................. 2,464 2,319 2,150 2,224
Employment-population ratio ...................... 48.5 44.6 41.7 42.4
Unemployed............................................ 610 670 780 804
Looking for full-time work.......................... 460 549 655 666
Looking for part-time work.......................... 150 121 125 138
Unemployment rate................................... 19.8 22.4 26.6 26.6
Not in labor force...................................... 2,004 2,211 2,229 2,216
Asian (1)
Civilian noninstitutional population...................... 1,767 1,724 1,464 1,503
Civilian labor force.................................... 949 966 740 786
Participation rate................................ 53.7 56.0 50.5 52.3
Employed.............................................. 842 815 642 719
Employment-population ratio ...................... 47.7 47.3 43.8 47.8
Unemployed............................................ 107 151 98 68
Looking for full-time work.......................... 75 97 63 46
Looking for part-time work.......................... 32 54 34 22
Unemployment rate................................... 11.2 15.6 13.2 8.6
Not in labor force...................................... 818 758 724 716
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Civilian noninstitutional population...................... 5,957 6,004 6,079 6,275
Civilian labor force.................................... 3,908 3,900 3,772 3,926
Participation rate................................ 65.6 65.0 62.0 62.6
Employed.............................................. 3,434 3,390 3,244 3,428
Employment-population ratio ...................... 57.7 56.5 53.4 54.6
Unemployed............................................ 474 510 528 498
Looking for full-time work.......................... 381 419 406 373
Looking for part-time work.......................... 93 91 121 125
Unemployment rate................................... 12.1 13.1 14.0 12.7
Not in labor force...................................... 2,049 2,104 2,307 2,349
1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not
included. Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group were included in the group they identified as
the main race. Also, beginning in 2003, Asians exclude Pacific Islanders.
NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals
because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino
may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data for 2003 and 2004 reflect
revised population controls introduced in January 2003 and January 2004.
Table 3. Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2003-04
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Black Hispanic
Total White or Asian or
African Latino
Industry and class of worker American ethnicity
2003 2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003 2004
Total employed.................... 20,950 21,447 17,566 17,848 2,150 2,224 642 719 3,244 3,428
Agriculture and related industries.... 352 338 341 318 4 6 1 - 87 86
Nonagricultural industries............ 20,599 21,110 17,225 17,530 2,146 2,218 640 718 3,157 3,343
Private wage and salary workers...... 18,773 19,188 15,771 15,997 1,893 1,959 585 634 2,958 3,115
Mining.............................. 45 41 43 41 - - - - 3 7
Construction........................ 1,442 1,543 1,343 1,378 55 75 8 14 370 463
Manufacturing....................... 1,318 1,515 1,119 1,257 132 107 26 103 288 331
Durable goods..................... 762 954 674 829 57 39 12 49 111 167
Nondurable goods.................. 557 562 444 428 75 68 14 54 177 164
Wholesale trade..................... 476 452 402 381 46 45 15 13 74 66
Retail trade........................ 3,944 4,140 3,210 3,386 448 482 171 153 494 526
Transportation and utilities........ 465 503 354 383 100 94 3 13 56 92
Information ........................ 438 353 352 288 51 42 15 4 63 45
Financial activities................ 1,130 1,052 909 896 109 112 79 25 153 163
Professional and business
services............................. 1,653 1,701 1,389 1,424 178 179 44 44 310 302
Education and health services....... 2,127 2,110 1,722 1,688 268 268 67 81 275 306
Leisure and hospitality............. 4,727 4,703 4,053 3,980 418 445 132 145 745 703
Other services...................... 1,009 1,075 874 897 89 110 26 39 128 111
Government............................ 1,439 1,434 1,134 1,089 218 236 39 75 148 136
Federal............................. 159 189 93 138 53 40 10 3 16 11
State............................... 412 445 306 329 65 76 20 37 46 54
Local............................... 867 799 735 621 99 120 9 36 86 71
Self-employed and unpaid
family workers....................... 386 488 321 444 35 23 16 9 51 91
- Dash represents or rounds to zero.
NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not
presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are
classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Data for 2003 and 2004 reflect revised population controls introduced in January 2003 and
January 2004.