Full text of Summer 1998 : Text File, USDL 98-386
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Internet address: http://stat.bls.gov/newsrels.htm
Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 98-386
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: 606-5902 Tuesday, September 22, 1998
EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 1998
The number of employed youth increased by 2.5 million from April to
July, the traditional summertime peak for youth employment, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This
year's seasonal expansion in employment of 16- to 24-year-olds was lower
than in the preceding summer. The number of unemployed youth also rose as
it typically does at this time of the year, growing by 702,000 between the
spring and summer. (Because the focus of this analysis is the seasonal
changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur every spring and
summer, the data are not adjusted for seasonal variations.)
Labor Force
The 16- to 24-year-old labor force--those working or actively looking
for work--grows sharply between April and July of each year, as large
numbers of high school and college students search for summer jobs and many
recent graduates look for permanent employment. This summer, the youth
labor force rose by 3.2 million, to a total of 24.2 million in July. This
was in line with the increase that occurred over the same period during the
preceding four summers. (See table 1.)
The proportion of the youth population working or looking for work--the
group's labor force participation rate--was 72.8 percent in July, about the
same as last year. The participation rate for black youth (64.4 percent)
was higher than a year earlier, while the rates for young men (76.3
percent), women (69.3 percent), and whites (75.3 percent) were little
different from those in 1997. (See table 2.)
Employment
A total of 21.6 million youth were employed this July, 64.9 percent of
their population. This ratio has remained within a fairly narrow range
during the 1990s. The employment-to-population ratio for young women (62.0
percent in July), has grown since the mid-1990s, while the rate for young
men (67.8 percent) has declined during the same period. The employment-to-
population ratios for white and black youth have shown little or no
movement since the mid-1990s. (See table 2.)
About 7 in 8 employed youth were wage and salary workers in the private
sector this summer, with retail trade (7.4 million) and services (5.8
million) the largest employers. There also were sizable numbers of youth
employed in manufacturing and construction. Government employed a total of
1.5 million young people in July. Nearly 3 in 5 of the young people with
government jobs were employed in local governments. About 11 percent of
black and 6 percent of white youth worked in government. (See table 3.)
- 2 -
Unemployment
About 2.6 million 16- to 24-year-olds were unemployed this July--that
is, they were not working, were actively looking for work, and were
available to take a job. The youth unemployment rate was 10.8 percent.
Jobless rates were 11.2 percent for young men, 10.4 percent for young
women, 8.4 percent for white youth, and 24.8 percent for black youth. The
summer jobless rates for these demographic groups have declined since the
mid-1990s. (See table 2.)
Technical Note
The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current
Population Survey (CPS), a national sample survey of 50,000 households
conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the Bureau of
the Census. The data in this release relate to the employment status of
youth (16- to 24-year-old) during the months of April-July. This period
was selected as being the most representative time frame in which to
measure the full summertime transition from school to work. July is
traditionally the peak summer month of youth employment.
Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation
procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey.
For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey
Effective January 1998" in the February 1998 issue of Employment and
Earnings.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory
impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD
phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-326-2577.
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 depending 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
information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and
information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and
Estimates of Error" section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues 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
personal 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
reference 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 population 16 to 24 years of age by sex and race, April-July 1998
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | | | |
| | | | | April-July changes
___________________
Employment status, sex, and race | April | May | June | July |
| | | | | |
| | | | | Number | Percent
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | | | | |
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population................... 33,108 33,149 33,232 33,266 158 0.5
Civilian labor force................................. 20,984 21,626 23,671 24,225 3,241 15.4
Participation rate............................. 63.4 65.2 71.2 72.8 9.4 14.9
Employed........................................... 19,059 19,372 20,866 21,599 2,539 13.3
Employment-population ratio (1)................ 57.6 58.4 62.8 64.9 7.4 12.8
Unemployed......................................... 1,925 2,254 2,805 2,626 702 36.5
Looking for full-time work....................... 1,227 1,582 2,046 1,910 683 55.7
Looking for part-time work....................... 698 672 759 716 18 2.6
Unemployment rate................................ 9.2 10.4 11.8 10.8 1.7 18.2
Not in labor force................................... 12,124 11,522 9,561 9,041 -3,083 -25.4
Men
Civilian noninstitutional population................... 16,660 16,712 16,772 16,779 119 .7
Civilian labor force................................. 10,949 11,311 12,495 12,807 1,858 17.0
Participation rate............................. 65.7 67.7 74.5 76.3 10.6 16.1
Employed........................................... 9,904 10,069 11,028 11,370 1,467 14.8
Employment-population ratio (1)................ 59.4 60.3 65.8 67.8 8.3 14.0
Unemployed......................................... 1,045 1,242 1,467 1,436 391 37.4
Looking for full-time work....................... 686 927 1,078 1,083 397 58.0
Looking for part-time work....................... 359 314 388 353 -6 -1.7
Unemployment rate................................ 9.5 11.0 11.7 11.2 1.7 17.5
Not in labor force................................... 5,712 5,401 4,277 3,973 -1,739 -30.4
Women
Civilian noninstitutional population................... 16,448 16,437 16,460 16,487 39 .2
Civilian labor force................................. 10,035 10,315 11,176 11,418 1,383 13.8
Participation rate............................. 61.0 62.8 67.9 69.3 8.2 13.5
Employed........................................... 9,156 9,303 9,838 10,228 1,073 11.7
Employment-population ratio (1)................ 55.7 56.6 59.8 62.0 6.4 11.5
Unemployed......................................... 880 1,012 1,338 1,190 310 35.3
Looking for full-time work....................... 542 655 968 827 286 52.8
Looking for part-time work....................... 338 357 371 363 24 7.2
Unemployment rate................................ 8.8 9.8 12.0 10.4 1.7 18.9
Not in labor force................................... 6,412 6,122 5,284 5,068 -1,344 -21.0
White
Civilian noninstitutional population................... 26,471 26,514 26,562 26,606 134 .5
Civilian labor force................................. 17,505 18,122 19,636 20,028 2,523 14.4
Participation rate............................. 66.1 68.4 73.9 75.3 9.1 13.8
Employed........................................... 16,133 16,520 17,628 18,343 2,210 13.7
Employment-population ratio (1)................ 60.9 62.3 66.4 68.9 8.0 13.1
Unemployed......................................... 1,372 1,602 2,008 1,685 313 22.8
Looking for full-time work....................... 849 1,096 1,419 1,178 329 38.8
Looking for part-time work....................... 523 506 589 507 -16 -3.1
Unemployment rate................................ 7.8 8.8 10.2 8.4 .6 7.3
Not in labor force................................... 8,966 8,391 6,926 6,578 -2,388 -26.6
Black
Civilian noninstitutional population................... 4,969 4,976 4,985 4,993 24 .5
Civilian labor force................................. 2,652 2,664 3,099 3,216 564 21.3
Participation rate............................. 53.4 53.5 62.2 64.4 11.0 20.7
Employed........................................... 2,165 2,090 2,422 2,419 254 11.7
Employment-population ratio (1)................ 43.6 42.0 48.6 48.4 4.9 11.2
Unemployed......................................... 487 574 676 797 310 63.7
Looking for full-time work....................... 332 430 547 636 304 91.7
Looking for part-time work....................... 155 145 130 161 6 3.7
Unemployment rate................................ 18.4 21.6 21.8 24.8 6.4 34.9
Not in labor force................................... 2,317 2,312 1,886 1,777 -540 -23.3
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 Employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population
controls used in the household survey.
Table 2. Employment status of the civilian population 16 to 24 years of age by sex and race, July 1995-98
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | | |
Employment status, sex, and race | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | | |
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 32,436 32,310 32,803 33,266
Civilian labor force........................................... 24,102 23,677 23,931 24,225
Participation rate....................................... 74.3 73.3 73.0 72.8
Employed..................................................... 21,041 20,702 21,197 21,599
Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 64.9 64.1 64.6 64.9
Unemployed................................................... 3,062 2,975 2,734 2,626
Looking for full-time work................................. 2,273 2,136 2,005 1,910
Looking for part-time work................................. 789 839 729 716
Unemployment rate.......................................... 12.7 12.6 11.4 10.8
Not in labor force............................................. 8,334 8,633 8,872 9,041
Men
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 16,246 16,179 16,548 16,779
Civilian labor force........................................... 12,884 12,667 12,653 12,807
Participation rate....................................... 79.3 78.3 76.5 76.3
Employed..................................................... 11,311 11,023 11,207 11,370
Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 69.6 68.1 67.7 67.8
Unemployed................................................... 1,573 1,644 1,446 1,436
Looking for full-time work................................. 1,219 1,182 1,094 1,083
Looking for part-time work................................. 354 462 352 353
Unemployment rate.......................................... 12.2 13.0 11.4 11.2
Not in labor force............................................. 3,363 3,512 3,894 3,973
Women
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 16,190 16,131 16,256 16,487
Civilian labor force........................................... 11,219 11,010 11,278 11,418
Participation rate....................................... 69.3 68.3 69.4 69.3
Employed..................................................... 9,730 9,678 9,990 10,228
Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 60.1 60.0 61.5 62.0
Unemployed................................................... 1,489 1,331 1,289 1,190
Looking for full-time work................................. 1,054 954 912 827
Looking for part-time work................................. 435 377 377 363
Unemployment rate.......................................... 13.3 12.1 11.4 10.4
Not in labor force............................................. 4,971 5,121 4,977 5,068
White
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 25,777 25,729 26,159 26,606
Civilian labor force........................................... 19,890 19,644 19,901 20,028
Participation rate....................................... 77.2 76.4 76.1 75.3
Employed..................................................... 17,876 17,584 17,992 18,343
Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 69.3 68.3 68.8 68.9
Unemployed................................................... 2,014 2,060 1,909 1,685
Looking for full-time work................................. 1,454 1,428 1,412 1,178
Looking for part-time work................................. 559 632 497 507
Unemployment rate.......................................... 10.1 10.5 9.6 8.4
Not in labor force............................................. 5,887 6,085 6,258 6,578
Black
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 4,834 4,883 4,958 4,993
Civilian labor force........................................... 3,083 3,026 3,030 3,216
Participation rate....................................... 63.8 62.0 61.1 64.4
Employed..................................................... 2,230 2,258 2,347 2,419
Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 46.1 46.2 47.3 48.4
Unemployed................................................... 852 768 684 797
Looking for full-time work................................. 667 617 500 636
Looking for part-time work................................. 186 151 183 161
Unemployment rate.......................................... 27.7 25.4 22.6 24.8
Not in labor force............................................. 1,751 1,858 1,927 1,777
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 Employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population.
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in
the household survey.
Table 3. Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, and race, July 1997-98
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Total | White | Black
___________________________________________________________
Industry and class of worker | | |
| | | | | |
| 1997 | 1998 | 1997 | 1998 | 1997 | 1998
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | | | | |
Total employed................................... 21,197 21,599 17,992 18,343 2,347 2,419
Agriculture ......................................... 763 803 726 756 17 30
Nonagricultural industries........................... 20,434 20,796 17,266 17,586 2,330 2,389
Private wage and salary workers.................... 18,627 18,927 15,838 16,074 2,049 2,109
Mining........................................... 60 57 58 53 - 4
Construction..................................... 1,153 1,161 1,080 1,088 42 49
Manufacturing.................................... 2,258 2,188 1,925 1,812 222 278
Transportation and public utilities.............. 734 821 602 711 103 90
Wholesale trade.................................. 546 657 482 594 41 45
Retail trade..................................... 7,458 7,377 6,353 6,279 832 840
Finance, insurance, and real estate.............. 924 890 771 733 119 102
Services......................................... 5,493 5,778 4,568 4,803 691 700
Government......................................... 1,445 1,484 1,118 1,163 248 254
Federal.......................................... 176 178 116 138 39 32
State............................................ 462 464 370 338 77 103
Local............................................ 806 842 631 687 132 119
Self-employed and unpaid family workers............ 362 384 310 349 33 26
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population
controls used in the household survey. Dash represents zero.