Full text of Summer 2006 : Text File, USDL - 06-1497
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Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 06-1497
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, August 25, 2006
EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 2006
From April to July, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old
increased by 2.5 million to 21.9 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. July is the traditional
summertime peak for youth employment. This summer�s increase in youth
employment was slightly lower than last year's 2.7 million increase. Un-
employment among youth increased by 658,000 between April and July, a much
larger rise than in the prior year but about the same as in 2003 and 2004.
(Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes in youth employment
and unemployment that occur every spring and summer, the data are not sea-
sonally 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 3.2
million to a total of 24.7 million in July. (See table 1.)
The labor force participation rate for youth--the proportion of their
population working or looking for work--was 66.7 percent in July. This
was essentially unchanged from a year earlier (66.6 percent), but about 11
percentage points below its peak in 1989 (77.5 percent). Over the 1989-
2006 period, the proportion of youth enrolled in school in July rose, and
youth enrolled in school are much less likely than those not in school to
be in the labor force.
The July 2006 labor force participation rates for 16- to 24-year old
women (63.6 percent) and men (69.7 percent) were unchanged over the year.
For several decades prior to 1989, young men�s July labor force partici-
pation rate showed no clear trend, ranging from 81 to 86 percent. Since
July 1989, however, their rate has declined by about 13 percentage points.
Young women�s July labor force participation rate, which had plateaued dur-
ing the 1980s and most of the 1990s after a long-term upward trend, has fall-
en by about 9 percentage points since 1989.
The July participation rates for whites (69.6 percent), blacks (57.7 per-
cent), and Hispanics or Latinos (61.5 percent) showed little or no change over
the year. For all three groups, labor force participation rates are about 10
percentage points lower than their peak levels in 1989. The rate for Asians
(46.6 percent) declined over the year. (See table 2.)
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Employment
In July 2006, 21.9 million 16- to 24-year-olds were employed. The employment-
population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-year-old civilian non-
institutional population that was employed--was 59.2 percent, about the same as in
July 2005. The ratio has held fairly steady for the past three summers after fall-
ing by about 11 percentage points between July 1989 and July 2003. The employment-
population ratios for young men (61.9 percent), women (56.5 percent), whites (63.3
percent), blacks (43.5 percent), Asians (42.8 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos
(55.2 percent) were all little changed from a year earlier.
In July 2006, 22 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and hospitality
industry (which includes food services) and 21 percent worked in retail trade. In
addition, nearly a third of employed youth worked in construction, education and
health services, professional and business services, and government combined. (See
table 3.)
Unemployment
In July 2006, 2.8 million youth were unemployed. The youth unemployment rate--
11.2 percent--was about the same as in July 2005. The July 2006 youth unemploy-
ment rates for men (11.2 percent), women (11.1 percent), whites (9.0 percent), blacks
(24.7 percent), Asians (8.2 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (10.4 percent), showed
little change from a year earlier. (See table 2.)
- 3 -
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 2006, 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
2006" in the February 2006 issue of Employment and Earnings, available at
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps06adj.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.
- 4 -
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 2006
(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............................. 36,854 36,897 36,943 36,989 135 .4
Civilian labor force........................................... 21,498 22,023 24,128 24,664 3,166 14.7
Participation rate....................................... 58.3 59.7 65.3 66.7 8.3 14.3
Employed..................................................... 19,406 19,769 21,268 21,914 2,508 12.9
Employment-population ratio.............................. 52.7 53.6 57.6 59.2 6.6 12.5
Unemployed................................................... 2,092 2,254 2,860 2,750 658 31.5
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,432 1,575 2,044 2,028 596 41.6
Looking for part-time work............................... 660 679 817 722 62 9.4
Unemployment rate........................................ 9.7 10.2 11.9 11.2 1.4 14.6
Not in labor force............................................. 15,356 14,874 12,815 12,324 -3,031 -19.7
Men
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,603 18,626 18,651 18,675 71 .4
Civilian labor force........................................... 11,308 11,649 12,771 13,024 1,716 15.2
Participation rate....................................... 60.8 62.5 68.5 69.7 9.0 14.7
Employed..................................................... 10,093 10,324 11,225 11,568 1,475 14.6
Employment-population ratio.............................. 54.3 55.4 60.2 61.9 7.7 14.2
Unemployed................................................... 1,215 1,324 1,546 1,456 240 19.8
Looking for full-time work............................... 865 1,007 1,172 1,152 288 33.3
Looking for part-time work............................... 351 317 374 303 -47 -13.5
Unemployment rate........................................ 10.7 11.4 12.1 11.2 .4 4.0
Not in labor force............................................. 7,295 6,978 5,879 5,651 -1,644 -22.5
Women
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,250 18,271 18,293 18,314 64 .4
Civilian labor force........................................... 10,190 10,375 11,357 11,641 1,451 14.2
Participation rate....................................... 55.8 56.8 62.1 63.6 7.7 13.8
Employed..................................................... 9,313 9,445 10,043 10,346 1,033 11.1
Employment-population ratio.............................. 51.0 51.7 54.9 56.5 5.5 10.7
Unemployed................................................... 877 930 1,314 1,295 418 47.7
Looking for full-time work............................... 567 568 871 876 308 54.3
Looking for part-time work............................... 309 361 443 419 109 35.4
Unemployment rate........................................ 8.6 9.0 11.6 11.1 2.5 29.3
Not in labor force............................................. 8,060 7,896 6,936 6,673 -1,387 -17.2
White
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 28,647 28,675 28,706 28,736 90 .3
Civilian labor force........................................... 17,424 17,801 19,596 20,002 2,578 14.8
Participation rate....................................... 60.8 62.1 68.3 69.6 8.8 14.4
Employed..................................................... 16,009 16,204 17,584 18,193 2,185 13.6
Employment-population ratio.............................. 55.9 56.5 61.3 63.3 7.4 13.3
Unemployed................................................... 1,415 1,596 2,012 1,808 393 27.8
Looking for full-time work............................... 917 1,063 1,413 1,289 371 40.5
Looking for part-time work............................... 498 533 599 520 22 4.3
Unemployment rate........................................ 8.1 9.0 10.3 9.0 .9 11.3
Not in labor force............................................. 11,223 10,875 9,110 8,735 -2,488 -22.2
Black or African American
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 5,393 5,404 5,415 5,426 33 .6
Civilian labor force........................................... 2,733 2,854 3,006 3,133 400 14.6
Participation rate....................................... 50.7 52.8 55.5 57.7 7.1 14.0
Employed..................................................... 2,208 2,332 2,357 2,361 153 6.9
Employment-population ratio.............................. 40.9 43.2 43.5 43.5 2.6 6.3
Unemployed................................................... 525 522 649 772 247 47.1
Looking for full-time work............................... 409 418 483 617 208 50.8
Looking for part-time work............................... 116 104 166 155 39 33.9
Unemployment rate........................................ 19.2 18.3 21.6 24.7 5.4 28.3
Not in labor force............................................. 2,660 2,550 2,408 2,293 -368 -13.8
Asian
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 1,463 1,475 1,474 1,474 11 .8
Civilian labor force........................................... 602 619 678 687 86 14.2
Participation rate....................................... 41.1 42.0 46.0 46.6 5.5 13.4
Employed..................................................... 562 581 601 631 69 12.3
Employment-population ratio.............................. 38.4 39.4 40.7 42.8 4.4 11.5
Unemployed................................................... 40 38 78 56 16 41.4
Looking for full-time work............................... 31 25 58 33 2 6.3
Looking for part-time work............................... 9 13 20 23 15 169.5
Unemployment rate........................................ 6.6 6.1 11.5 8.2 1.6 23.8
Not in labor force............................................. 861 856 796 787 -75 -8.7
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 6,372 6,383 6,394 6,406 34 .5
Civilian labor force........................................... 3,664 3,712 3,854 3,943 279 7.6
Participation rate....................................... 57.5 58.1 60.3 61.5 4.0 7.0
Employed..................................................... 3,339 3,386 3,414 3,534 195 5.8
Employment-population ratio.............................. 52.4 53.0 53.4 55.2 2.8 5.3
Unemployed................................................... 325 326 440 409 84 25.8
Looking for full-time work............................... 229 239 331 287 58 25.3
Looking for part-time work............................... 96 87 109 122 26 27.1
Unemployment rate........................................ 8.9 8.8 11.4 10.4 1.5 16.9
Not in labor force............................................. 2,708 2,671 2,540 2,463 -245 -9.0
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 2006.
Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2003-2006
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Employment status, sex, race, and 2003 2004 2005 2006
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 35,905 36,415 36,681 36,989
Civilian labor force........................................... 24,150 24,465 24,436 24,664
Participation rate....................................... 67.3 67.2 66.6 66.7
Employed..................................................... 20,950 21,447 21,749 21,914
Employment-population ratio.............................. 58.3 58.9 59.3 59.2
Unemployed................................................... 3,200 3,018 2,688 2,750
Looking for full-time work............................... 2,448 2,212 1,916 2,028
Looking for part-time work............................... 753 806 771 722
Unemployment rate........................................ 13.3 12.3 11.0 11.2
Not in labor force............................................. 11,755 11,950 12,244 12,324
Men
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,042 18,356 18,501 18,675
Civilian labor force........................................... 12,635 12,925 12,871 13,024
Participation rate....................................... 70.0 70.4 69.6 69.7
Employed..................................................... 10,838 11,373 11,393 11,568
Employment-population ratio.............................. 60.1 62.0 61.6 61.9
Unemployed................................................... 1,796 1,552 1,478 1,456
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,416 1,176 1,077 1,152
Looking for part-time work............................... 381 377 401 303
Unemployment rate........................................ 14.2 12.0 11.5 11.2
Not in labor force............................................. 5,407 5,431 5,630 5,651
Women
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 17,863 18,059 18,180 18,314
Civilian labor force........................................... 11,516 11,540 11,566 11,641
Participation rate....................................... 64.5 63.9 63.6 63.6
Employed..................................................... 10,112 10,074 10,356 10,346
Employment-population ratio.............................. 56.6 55.8 57.0 56.5
Unemployed................................................... 1,404 1,465 1,209 1,295
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,032 1,036 839 876
Looking for part-time work............................... 372 429 370 419
Unemployment rate........................................ 12.2 12.7 10.5 11.1
Not in labor force............................................. 6,348 6,519 6,614 6,673
White
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 28,066 28,410 28,566 28,736
Civilian labor force........................................... 19,749 19,859 19,712 20,002
Participation rate....................................... 70.4 69.9 69.0 69.6
Employed..................................................... 17,566 17,848 17,944 18,193
Employment-population ratio.............................. 62.6 62.8 62.8 63.3
Unemployed................................................... 2,182 2,011 1,768 1,808
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,611 1,406 1,234 1,289
Looking for part-time work............................... 571 605 533 520
Unemployment rate........................................ 11.1 10.1 9.0 9.0
Not in labor force............................................. 8,317 8,551 8,854 8,735
Black or African American
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 5,159 5,245 5,317 5,426
Civilian labor force........................................... 2,930 3,029 3,097 3,133
Participation rate....................................... 56.8 57.7 58.3 57.7
Employed..................................................... 2,150 2,224 2,378 2,361
Employment-population ratio.............................. 41.7 42.4 44.7 43.5
Unemployed................................................... 780 804 719 772
Looking for full-time work............................... 655 666 544 617
Looking for part-time work............................... 125 138 176 155
Unemployment rate........................................ 26.6 26.6 23.2 24.7
Not in labor force............................................. 2,229 2,216 2,220 2,293
Asian
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 1,464 1,503 1,497 1,474
Civilian labor force........................................... 740 786 794 687
Participation rate....................................... 50.5 52.3 53.1 46.6
Employed..................................................... 642 719 699 631
Employment-population ratio.............................. 43.8 47.8 46.7 42.8
Unemployed................................................... 98 68 95 56
Looking for full-time work............................... 63 46 58 33
Looking for part-time work............................... 34 22 38 23
Unemployment rate........................................ 13.2 8.6 12.0 8.2
Not in labor force............................................. 724 716 702 787
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 6,079 6,275 6,335 6,406
Civilian labor force........................................... 3,772 3,926 3,800 3,943
Participation rate....................................... 62.0 62.6 60.0 61.5
Employed..................................................... 3,244 3,428 3,428 3,534
Employment-population ratio.............................. 53.4 54.6 54.1 55.2
Unemployed................................................... 528 498 372 409
Looking for full-time work............................... 406 373 292 287
Looking for part-time work............................... 121 125 80 122
Unemployment rate........................................ 14.0 12.7 9.8 10.4
Not in labor force............................................. 2,307 2,349 2,536 2,463
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 2003-2006
reflect revised population controls introduced each January of 2003-2006.
Table 3. Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity,
July 2005-2006
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Total White Black or African Asian Hispanic or
American Latino ethnicity
Industry and class of worker
2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006
Total employed.......................... 21,749 21,914 17,944 18,193 2,378 2,361 699 631 3,428 3,534
Agriculture and related industries.... 341 411 320 395 11 9 - - 80 116
Nonagricultural industries............ 21,407 21,503 17,624 17,798 2,367 2,352 699 631 3,347 3,418
Private wage and salary workers..... 19,410 19,513 16,066 16,218 2,066 2,086 642 580 3,102 3,146
Mining............................ 57 67 43 62 11 - 2 1 19 20
Construction...................... 1,551 1,704 1,406 1,558 91 100 7 8 453 512
Manufacturing..................... 1,423 1,392 1,166 1,173 171 142 27 26 298 302
Durable goods................... 853 862 736 729 70 72 14 24 179 153
Nondurable goods................ 570 530 429 444 100 70 14 2 119 149
Wholesale trade................... 414 371 342 335 33 19 19 3 71 73
Retail trade...................... 4,384 4,548 3,590 3,678 498 565 138 156 564 562
Transportation and utilities...... 510 440 412 347 68 75 5 6 70 71
Information....................... 422 410 333 316 61 63 15 14 49 42
Financial activities.............. 1,142 959 954 740 96 129 59 51 210 114
Professional and business services 1,563 1,489 1,245 1,250 215 161 62 35 262 268
Education and health services..... 2,072 2,098 1,646 1,611 295 311 91 92 229 216
Leisure and hospitality........... 4,770 4,909 3,979 4,130 455 474 167 155 694 785
Other services.................... 1,103 1,127 951 1,018 72 48 50 32 183 181
Government.......................... 1,577 1,516 1,186 1,179 286 232 37 41 159 192
Federal........................... 230 198 166 133 49 43 5 6 19 25
State............................. 470 462 342 354 97 60 27 20 37 49
Local............................. 877 856 678 693 140 129 5 14 103 118
Self-employed and unpaid family
workers.............................. 420 474 372 401 15 34 20 11 87 81
- 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 2005 and 2006 reflect revised population controls introduced
in January 2005 and January 2006.