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1 Technical information: Media contact: (202) 691-6378 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ 691-5902 USDL 06-1497 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT 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. Unemployment 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 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 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 participation 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 during the 1980s and most of the 1990s after a long-term upward trend, has fallen by about 9 percentage points since 1989. The July participation rates for whites (69.6 percent), blacks (57.7 percent), 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.) 2 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 noninstitutional 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 falling 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 unemployment 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.) 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. 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 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. 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.) Employment status, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity April-July changes1 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 .................................................................................................. 36,854 21,498 58.3 19,406 52.7 2,092 1,432 660 9.7 15,356 36,897 22,023 59.7 19,769 53.6 2,254 1,575 679 10.2 14,874 36,943 24,128 65.3 21,268 57.6 2,860 2,044 817 11.9 12,815 36,989 24,664 66.7 21,914 59.2 2,750 2,028 722 11.2 12,324 135 3,166 8.3 2,508 6.6 658 596 62 1.4 -3,031 .4 14.7 14.3 12.9 12.5 31.5 41.6 9.4 14.6 -19.7 18,603 11,308 60.8 10,093 54.3 1,215 865 351 10.7 7,295 18,626 11,649 62.5 10,324 55.4 1,324 1,007 317 11.4 6,978 18,651 12,771 68.5 11,225 60.2 1,546 1,172 374 12.1 5,879 18,675 13,024 69.7 11,568 61.9 1,456 1,152 303 11.2 5,651 71 1,716 9.0 1,475 7.7 240 288 -47 .4 -1,644 .4 15.2 14.7 14.6 14.2 19.8 33.3 -13.5 4.0 -22.5 18,250 10,190 55.8 9,313 51.0 877 567 309 8.6 8,060 18,271 10,375 56.8 9,445 51.7 930 568 361 9.0 7,896 18,293 11,357 62.1 10,043 54.9 1,314 871 443 11.6 6,936 18,314 11,641 63.6 10,346 56.5 1,295 876 419 11.1 6,673 64 1,451 7.7 1,033 5.5 418 308 109 2.5 -1,387 .4 14.2 13.8 11.1 10.7 47.7 54.3 35.4 29.3 -17.2 28,647 17,424 60.8 16,009 55.9 1,415 917 498 8.1 11,223 28,675 17,801 62.1 16,204 56.5 1,596 1,063 533 9.0 10,875 28,706 19,596 68.3 17,584 61.3 2,012 1,413 599 10.3 9,110 28,736 20,002 69.6 18,193 63.3 1,808 1,289 520 9.0 8,735 90 2,578 8.8 2,185 7.4 393 371 22 .9 -2,488 .3 14.8 14.4 13.6 13.3 27.8 40.5 4.3 11.3 -22.2 5,393 2,733 50.7 2,208 40.9 525 409 116 19.2 2,660 5,404 2,854 52.8 2,332 43.2 522 418 104 18.3 2,550 5,415 3,006 55.5 2,357 43.5 649 483 166 21.6 2,408 5,426 3,133 57.7 2,361 43.5 772 617 155 24.7 2,293 33 400 7.1 153 2.6 247 208 39 5.4 -368 .6 14.6 14.0 6.9 6.3 47.1 50.8 33.9 28.3 -13.8 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 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 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 2006 — Continued (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) April-July changes1 Employment status, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity April May June July Number Percent Asian 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 .................................................................................................. 1,463 602 41.1 562 38.4 40 31 9 6.6 861 1,475 619 42.0 581 39.4 38 25 13 6.1 856 1,474 678 46.0 601 40.7 78 58 20 11.5 796 1,474 687 46.6 631 42.8 56 33 23 8.2 787 11 86 5.5 69 4.4 16 2 15 1.6 -75 .8 14.2 13.4 12.3 11.5 41.4 6.3 169.5 23.8 -8.7 6,372 3,664 57.5 3,339 52.4 325 229 96 8.9 2,708 6,383 3,712 58.1 3,386 53.0 326 239 87 8.8 2,671 6,394 3,854 60.3 3,414 53.4 440 331 109 11.4 2,540 6,406 3,943 61.5 3,534 55.2 409 287 122 10.4 2,463 34 279 4.0 195 2.8 84 58 26 1.5 -245 .5 7.6 7.0 5.8 5.3 25.8 25.3 27.1 16.9 -9.0 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. 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 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2003 2004 2005 2006 35,905 24,150 67.3 20,950 58.3 3,200 2,448 753 13.3 11,755 36,415 24,465 67.2 21,447 58.9 3,018 2,212 806 12.3 11,950 36,681 24,436 66.6 21,749 59.3 2,688 1,916 771 11.0 12,244 36,989 24,664 66.7 21,914 59.2 2,750 2,028 722 11.2 12,324 18,042 12,635 70.0 10,838 60.1 1,796 1,416 381 14.2 5,407 18,356 12,925 70.4 11,373 62.0 1,552 1,176 377 12.0 5,431 18,501 12,871 69.6 11,393 61.6 1,478 1,077 401 11.5 5,630 18,675 13,024 69.7 11,568 61.9 1,456 1,152 303 11.2 5,651 17,863 11,516 64.5 10,112 56.6 1,404 1,032 372 12.2 6,348 18,059 11,540 63.9 10,074 55.8 1,465 1,036 429 12.7 6,519 18,180 11,566 63.6 10,356 57.0 1,209 839 370 10.5 6,614 18,314 11,641 63.6 10,346 56.5 1,295 876 419 11.1 6,673 28,066 19,749 70.4 17,566 62.6 2,182 1,611 571 11.1 8,317 28,410 19,859 69.9 17,848 62.8 2,011 1,406 605 10.1 8,551 28,566 19,712 69.0 17,944 62.8 1,768 1,234 533 9.0 8,854 28,736 20,002 69.6 18,193 63.3 1,808 1,289 520 9.0 8,735 5,159 2,930 56.8 2,150 41.7 780 655 125 26.6 2,229 5,245 3,029 57.7 2,224 42.4 804 666 138 26.6 2,216 5,317 3,097 58.3 2,378 44.7 719 544 176 23.2 2,220 5,426 3,133 57.7 2,361 43.5 772 617 155 24.7 2,293 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 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 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 2003-2006 — Continued (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Employment status, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2003 2004 2005 2006 Asian 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 .................................................................................................. 1,464 740 50.5 642 43.8 98 63 34 13.2 724 1,503 786 52.3 719 47.8 68 46 22 8.6 716 1,497 794 53.1 699 46.7 95 58 38 12.0 702 1,474 687 46.6 631 42.8 56 33 23 8.2 787 6,079 3,772 62.0 3,244 53.4 528 406 121 14.0 2,307 6,275 3,926 62.6 3,428 54.6 498 373 125 12.7 2,349 6,335 3,800 60.0 3,428 54.1 372 292 80 9.8 2,536 6,406 3,943 61.5 3,534 55.2 409 287 122 10.4 2,463 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 .................................................................................................. 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 Black or African American White Industry and class of worker 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 ....................... 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 ................................................ 341 21,407 19,410 57 1,551 1,423 853 570 414 4,384 510 422 1,142 1,563 2,072 4,770 1,103 411 21,503 19,513 67 1,704 1,392 862 530 371 4,548 440 410 959 1,489 2,098 4,909 1,127 320 17,624 16,066 43 1,406 1,166 736 429 342 3,590 412 333 954 1,245 1,646 3,979 951 395 17,798 16,218 62 1,558 1,173 729 444 335 3,678 347 316 740 1,250 1,611 4,130 1,018 11 2,367 2,066 11 91 171 70 100 33 498 68 61 96 215 295 455 72 9 2,352 2,086 – 100 142 72 70 19 565 75 63 129 161 311 474 48 – 699 642 2 7 27 14 14 19 138 5 15 59 62 91 167 50 – 631 580 1 8 26 24 2 3 156 6 14 51 35 92 155 32 80 3,347 3,102 19 453 298 179 119 71 564 70 49 210 262 229 694 183 116 3,418 3,146 20 512 302 153 149 73 562 71 42 114 268 216 785 181 Government ...................................................... Federal ........................................................... State ............................................................... Local ............................................................... 1,577 230 470 877 1,516 198 462 856 1,186 166 342 678 1,179 133 354 693 286 49 97 140 232 43 60 129 37 5 27 5 41 6 20 14 159 19 37 103 192 25 49 118 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 2005 2006 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Asian 2005 2006 2005 2006 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.