The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
1 Technical information: Media contact: (202) 691-6378 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ 691-5902 USDL 03-412 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Friday, August 8, 2003 EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH—SUMMER 2003 The number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by 2.1 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 summertime expansion in youth employment was somewhat smaller than last year’s 2.4 million increase. Unemployment among youth increased by 628,000 between April and July, the largest seasonal increase since 1998. (Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur every spring and summer, 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 as large numbers of high school and college students take or search for summer employment and many graduates enter the labor market to begin or seek permanent jobs. This summer, the youth labor force rose by 2.7 million to a total of 24.2 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 2003 (67.3 percent) was lower than in 2002 (69.5 percent) and was the lowest rate for any July since 1966. The over-the-year decrease in the youth labor force participation rate may reflect, at least in part, the continuing weakness in the labor market in 2003. However, the participation rate for youth in July has been on the decline for a number of years, perhaps in response to increases in school enrollment during the summer. In July 2003, 25.5 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in school, up from 16.3 percent in July 1994, and participation rates for students are typically lower than for non-students. Only about half of the youth enrolled in school in July 2003 were in the labor force compared with almost three-fourths of those not in school. Changes in Youth Employment and Unemployment Data The estimates presented in this release incorporate the use of Census 2000-based population controls. Consequently, the estimates for the years 2000-02 appearing in this release may differ from those previously published, which were based on population controls derived from the 1990 census, and the estimates beginning in 2000 are not strictly comparable with those for earlier years. In addition, data for 2003 are not strictly comparable with data for 2002 and earlier years due to the introduction of revised population controls in January 2003. For further information, see the Technical Note. 2 In July 2003, the labor force participation rate for young men, which has declined steadily since 1995, was at its lowest July point on record, 70.0 percent. The July 2003 participation rate for young women was 64.5 percent, the lowest it has been since 1975. While the participation rates for young whites (70.4 percent) decreased from a year earlier, the rate for young blacks remained about the same (56.8 percent). For young Asians and young Hispanics, the labor force participation rates in July were 50.5 percent and 62.0 percent, respectively. (See table 2.) Employment There were 21.0 million 16- to 24-year-olds employed in July 2003. The employment-population ratio for youth—the proportion of the 16- to 24-year-old civilian noninstitutional population that were employed— was 58.3 percent, the lowest July ratio since 1964. The ratio decreased by 2.6 percentage points over the year and has fallen by 6.5 percentage points since July 2000. In July 2003, the employment-population ratios for young men (60.1 percent), young women (56.6 percent), young whites (62.6 percent), and young blacks (41.7 percent) were all lower than a year earlier. In July 2003, 23 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and hospitality industry (including fast-food restaurants) and 19 percent worked in retail trade. Also, large percentages of employed youth worked in education and health services, professional and business services, construction, and government. (See table 3.) (Industries reflect the introduction of the 2002 Census industry classification system derived from the 2002 North American Industry Classification System.) Unemployment There were 3.2 million youth unemployed in July 2003; these youth were not working but were available to take a job and were actively looking for work. The youth unemployment rate was 13.3 percent, up from 12.4 percent in July 2002 and 9.6 percent in July 2000. In July 2003, the unemployment rates for young men (14.2 percent), young whites (11.1 percent), and young blacks (26.6 percent) were higher than in July 2002. The July 2003 jobless rates for young women (12.2 percent) and Hispanic youth (14.0 percent) showed little or no change from a year earlier. The unemployment rate in July 2003 for Asian youth was 13.2 percent. (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 monthly 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 transition from school to work. July is the peak summer month of youth employment. The estimates presented in this release incorporate the use of Census 2000-based population controls. Sample results from the CPS are weighted up to independent estimates of the population by sex, age, race, and Hispanic/non-Hispanic origin. The weights, or population controls, are developed using counts of the civilian noninstitutional population derived from the decennial census and are updated using information from administrative records. Previously published estimates of employment and unemployment among youth for the years 2000-02 were based on population controls from the 1990 census. Consequently, the estimates for the years 2000-02 appearing in this release may differ from those previously published, and the estimates beginning in 2000 are not strictly comparable with estimates for earlier years. In addition, data for 2003 are not strictly comparable with data for 2002 and earlier years due to the introduction of revised population controls in January 2003. For a discussion of the introduction of the revised population controls and the impact their introduction had on CPS data, see “Revisions to the Current Population Survey Effective in January 2003” in the February 2003 issue of Employment and Earnings and available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.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 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 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. Industries reflect the introduction of the 2002 Census Industry Classification System derived from the 2002 North American Industry Classification System into the Current Population Survey. 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 2003 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Employment status, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity April-July changes 1 April May June July Number Percent TOTAL Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. 35,815 21,445 59.9 18,873 52.7 2,572 1,749 824 12.0 14,370 35,847 21,870 61.0 19,032 53.1 2,838 2,148 690 13.0 13,976 35,880 23,975 66.8 20,432 56.9 3,542 2,671 871 14.8 11,905 35,905 24,150 67.3 20,950 58.3 3,200 2,448 753 13.3 11,755 91 2,705 7.4 2,077 5.7 628 699 -71 1.3 -2,615 0.3 12.6 12.3 11.0 10.7 24.4 40.0 -8.6 10.5 -18.2 18,004 11,124 61.8 9,668 53.7 1,455 1,017 438 13.1 6,880 18,019 11,384 63.2 9,813 54.5 1,572 1,236 335 13.8 6,634 18,035 12,487 69.2 10,594 58.7 1,893 1,473 420 15.2 5,548 18,042 12,635 70.0 10,838 60.1 1,796 1,416 381 14.2 5,407 39 1,511 8.2 1,170 6.4 341 398 -57 1.1 -1,473 .2 13.6 13.3 12.1 11.9 23.4 39.2 -13.1 8.7 -21.4 17,811 10,321 57.9 9,204 51.7 1,117 731 386 10.8 7,490 17,828 10,486 58.8 9,219 51.7 1,267 912 355 12.1 7,342 17,845 11,488 64.4 9,838 55.1 1,650 1,198 451 14.4 6,357 17,863 11,516 64.5 10,112 56.6 1,404 1,032 372 12.2 6,348 52 1,194 6.5 907 4.9 287 301 -14 1.4 -1,142 .3 11.6 11.2 9.9 9.5 25.7 41.1 -3.5 12.7 -15.2 28,008 17,504 62.5 15,706 56.1 1,798 1,133 665 10.3 10,504 28,029 17,797 63.5 15,807 56.4 1,990 1,466 524 11.2 10,232 28,051 19,503 69.5 17,084 60.9 2,418 1,779 639 12.4 8,548 28,066 19,749 70.4 17,566 62.6 2,182 1,611 571 11.1 8,317 58 2,245 7.9 1,861 6.5 384 478 -94 .8 -2,187 .2 12.8 12.6 11.8 11.6 21.4 42.2 -14.1 7.6 -20.8 5,137 2,612 50.8 2,018 39.3 593 491 103 22.7 2,525 5,145 2,679 52.1 2,029 39.4 650 535 115 24.3 2,466 5,152 2,921 56.7 2,086 40.5 835 683 153 28.6 2,231 5,159 2,930 56.8 2,150 41.7 780 655 125 26.6 2,229 22 318 5.9 131 2.4 187 164 22 3.9 -296 .4 12.2 11.7 6.5 6.1 31.4 33.5 21.8 17.2 -11.7 Men Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. Women Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. White 2 Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. Black or African American 2 Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. See footnotes at end of table. 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 2003 — Continued (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Employment status, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity April-July changes 1 April May June July Number Percent Asian 2 Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. 1,441 640 44.4 580 40.3 60 39 20 9.3 801 1,456 704 48.3 620 42.6 84 52 32 11.9 752 1,460 787 53.9 648 44.4 139 104 35 17.7 673 1,464 740 50.5 642 43.8 98 63 34 13.2 724 23 99 6.1 61 3.5 38 24 14 3.9 -76 1.6 15.5 13.7 10.6 8.8 63.6 61.1 68.5 41.7 -9.5 6,055 3,623 59.8 3,197 52.8 425 314 111 11.7 2,432 6,063 3,627 59.8 3,168 52.2 459 397 62 12.7 2,436 6,071 3,792 62.5 3,203 52.8 589 429 160 15.5 2,279 6,079 3,772 62.0 3,244 53.4 528 406 121 14.0 2,307 24 149 2.2 47 .6 102 92 10 2.2 -125 .4 4.1 3.7 1.5 1.1 24.1 29.4 9.0 19.2 -5.2 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. 1 Changes are calculated using unrounded data. 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. NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or 2 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 Census 2000-based population controls. Data also reflect revised population controls introduced in January 2003. Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2000-03 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Employment status, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2000 2001 2002 2003 34,214 24,514 71.6 22,156 64.8 2,358 1,732 626 9.6 9,700 34,846 24,627 70.7 22,042 63.3 2,585 1,898 687 10.5 10,219 35,322 24,536 69.5 21,501 60.9 3,034 2,250 785 12.4 10,786 35,905 24,150 67.3 20,950 58.3 3,200 2,448 753 13.3 11,755 17,175 12,910 75.2 11,657 67.9 1,253 986 267 9.7 4,265 17,468 12,950 74.1 11,576 66.3 1,374 1,051 322 10.6 4,518 17,758 12,837 72.3 11,231 63.2 1,606 1,172 434 12.5 4,921 18,042 12,635 70.0 10,838 60.1 1,796 1,416 381 14.2 5,407 17,039 11,604 68.1 10,498 61.6 1,105 746 359 9.5 5,436 17,378 11,677 67.2 10,466 60.2 1,211 846 364 10.4 5,701 17,563 11,699 66.6 10,271 58.5 1,428 1,077 351 12.2 5,865 17,863 11,516 64.5 10,112 56.6 1,404 1,032 372 12.2 6,348 27,146 20,248 74.6 18,648 68.7 1,600 1,145 455 7.9 6,897 27,570 20,324 73.7 18,508 67.1 1,816 1,323 494 8.9 7,246 27,959 20,262 72.5 18,092 64.7 2,169 1,566 604 10.7 7,697 28,066 19,749 70.4 17,566 62.6 2,182 1,611 571 11.1 8,317 4,960 3,080 62.1 2,462 49.6 618 494 123 20.1 1,880 5,078 3,074 60.5 2,464 48.5 610 460 150 19.8 2,004 5,199 2,989 57.5 2,319 44.6 670 549 121 22.4 2,211 5,159 2,930 56.8 2,150 41.7 780 655 125 26.6 2,229 TOTAL Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. Men Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. Women Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. White 1 Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. Black or African American 1 Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. See footnotes at end of table. Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2000-03 — Continued (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Employment status, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2000 2001 2002 2003 Asian 1 Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. 1,734 938 54.1 832 48.0 106 66 40 11.3 795 1,767 949 53.7 842 47.7 107 75 32 11.2 818 1,724 966 56.0 815 47.3 151 97 54 15.6 758 1,464 740 50.5 642 43.8 98 63 34 13.2 724 5,838 3,839 65.8 3,389 58.1 450 342 108 11.7 1,999 5,957 3,908 65.6 3,434 57.7 474 381 93 12.1 2,049 6,004 3,900 65.0 3,390 56.5 510 419 91 13.1 2,104 6,079 3,772 62.0 3,244 53.4 528 406 121 14.0 2,307 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Civilian noninstitutional population ..................................................... Civilian labor force ............................................................................ Participation rate ......................................................................... Employed ........................................................................................ Employment-population ratio ..................................................... Unemployed ................................................................................... Looking for full-time work ............................................................ Looking for part-time work .......................................................... Unemployment rate .................................................................... Not in labor force .............................................................................. 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. 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 2000-02 have been revised to reflect Census 2000-based population controls. Data for 2003 also reflect an additional upward adjustment to the population controls used in the household survey. Table 3. Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2002-03 (In thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Black or African American 1 White 1 Total Industry and class of worker 2002 2003 2002 2003 Total employed ..................................... 21,501 20,950 18,092 17,566 2,319 2,150 815 642 3,390 3,244 Agriculture and related industries ............... Nonagricultural industries ........................... Private wage and salary workers .............. Mining ..................................................... Construction ........................................... Manufacturing ......................................... Durable goods ...................................... Nondurable goods ................................ Wholesale trade ...................................... Retail trade ............................................. Transportation and utilities ..................... Information .............................................. Financial activities .................................. Professional and business services ....... Education and health services ................ Leisure and hospitality ............................ Other services ........................................ 387 21,115 19,019 24 1,322 1,476 869 608 482 4,220 528 491 1,103 1,800 1,928 4,662 983 352 20,599 18,773 45 1,442 1,318 762 557 476 3,944 465 438 1,130 1,653 2,127 4,727 1,009 356 17,736 16,077 24 1,217 1,269 758 511 419 3,561 403 405 916 1,473 1,545 3,998 848 341 17,225 15,771 43 1,343 1,119 674 444 402 3,210 354 352 909 1,389 1,722 4,053 874 4 2,315 2,024 – 85 146 89 57 48 441 99 51 117 214 282 462 79 4 2,146 1,893 – 55 132 57 75 46 448 100 51 109 178 268 418 89 4 811 711 – 11 44 13 32 13 173 20 27 60 82 91 153 36 1 640 585 – 8 26 12 14 15 171 3 15 79 44 67 132 26 133 3,257 3,003 – 317 381 170 211 105 561 77 61 125 317 246 669 144 87 3,157 2,958 3 370 288 111 177 74 494 56 63 153 310 275 745 128 Government .............................................. Federal ................................................... State ....................................................... Local ....................................................... 1,617 219 444 953 1,439 159 412 867 1,237 146 325 766 1,134 93 306 735 252 59 62 130 218 53 65 99 91 10 39 42 39 10 20 9 192 32 63 97 148 16 46 86 Self-employed and unpaid family workers ...................................... 479 386 422 321 40 35 9 16 63 51 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. – Dash represents 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 2002 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Asian 1 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 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. Industries reflect the introduction of the 2002 Census industry classification system derived from the 2002 North American Industry Classification System into the Current Population Survey. Data reflect Census 2000-based population controls. Data for 2003 also reflect an additional upward adjustment to the population controls used in the household survey.