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1 Technical information: Media contact: (202) 691-6378 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ 691-5902 USDL 07-1284 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Friday, August 24, 2007 EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH—SUMMER 2007 From April to July 2007, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by 2.3 million to 21.7 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 2.5 million increase. Unemployment among youth increased by 548,000 between April and July, a smaller rise than in 2006. (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 2.9 million to a total of 24.3 million in July. (See table 1.) The labor force participation rate for youth—the proportion of their population working or looking for work—was 65.0 percent in July 2007, down from 66.7 percent in July 2006 and about 13 percentage points below its peak for that month in 1989 (77.5 percent). Over the 1989-2007 period, the proportion of youth enrolled in school in July trended up; youth enrolled in school are much less likely than those not in school to be in the labor force. The July 2007 labor force participation rates for 16- to 24-year-old men (67.9 percent) and women (62.1 percent) were lower than a year earlier. 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 participation rate has declined by about 15 percentage points. Young women’s July labor force participation rate peaked in 1989 after a long-term upward trend; their rate has fallen by about 10 percentage points since then. The July participation rates for whites (68.0 percent), blacks (54.1 percent), and Hispanics (59.5 percent) declined over the year. For all three groups, labor force participation rates were more than 10 percentage points lower than their peak levels for July 1989. The participation rate for Asian youth in July 2007 (49.4 percent) was not much different from July 2006. (See table 2.) Employment In July 2007, 21.7 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 2 58.0 percent, 1.2 percentage points lower than in July 2006. The ratio has fallen by about 11 percentage points since its peak in July 1989. The July 2007 employment-population ratios for young men (60.3 percent), whites (61.7 percent), and Hispanics (52.5 percent) were lower than a year earlier; the rates for young women (55.6 percent), blacks (43.0 percent), and Asians (45.6 percent) were little changed. (See table 2.) In July 2007, 22 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and hospitality industry (which includes food services) and 20 percent worked in retail trade. In addition, nearly two-fifths of employed youth worked in education and health services, professional and business services, government, construction, and manufacturing combined. (See table 3.) Unemployment In July 2007, 2.6 million youth were unemployed. The youth unemployment rate (10.8 percent) was little different from July 2006. The July 2007 unemployment rates for young men (11.1 percent), women (10.4 percent), whites (9.3 percent), Asians (7.7 percent), and Hispanics (11.8 percent) showed little change from a year earlier. The rate for black youth (20.5 percent) decreased over the year. (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 2007, 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 2007” in the February 2007 issue of Employment and Earnings, available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps07adj.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 2007 (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 .................................................................................................. 37,349 21,442 57.4 19,368 51.9 2,074 1,377 698 9.7 15,907 37,379 21,659 57.9 19,457 52.1 2,203 1,546 656 10.2 15,720 37,410 23,981 64.1 21,098 56.4 2,883 2,136 746 12.0 13,429 37,443 24,339 65.0 21,717 58.0 2,622 1,892 730 10.8 13,104 94 2,897 7.6 2,349 6.1 548 516 32 1.1 -2,803 .3 13.5 13.2 12.1 11.8 26.4 37.4 4.6 11.4 -17.6 18,882 11,274 59.7 10,080 53.4 1,194 822 372 10.6 7,609 18,896 11,458 60.6 10,157 53.7 1,302 980 322 11.4 7,438 18,910 12,686 67.1 11,020 58.3 1,666 1,266 400 13.1 6,224 18,926 12,845 67.9 11,421 60.3 1,424 1,059 365 11.1 6,081 43 1,571 8.2 1,341 7.0 230 237 -7 .5 -1,528 .2 13.9 13.7 13.3 13.0 19.3 28.8 -1.9 4.7 -20.1 18,467 10,168 55.1 9,288 50.3 880 555 326 8.7 8,298 18,483 10,201 55.2 9,300 50.3 901 566 335 8.8 8,282 18,500 11,294 61.1 10,078 54.5 1,216 870 346 10.8 7,205 18,517 11,494 62.1 10,296 55.6 1,198 833 365 10.4 7,023 50 1,326 7.0 1,008 5.3 318 279 39 1.8 -1,275 .3 13.0 12.7 10.9 10.6 36.1 50.2 12.0 20.4 -15.4 28,957 17,360 60.0 15,928 55.0 1,433 930 502 8.3 11,597 28,974 17,540 60.5 15,942 55.0 1,598 1,071 526 9.1 11,434 28,992 19,405 66.9 17,363 59.9 2,043 1,495 548 10.5 9,587 29,012 19,734 68.0 17,899 61.7 1,835 1,304 531 9.3 9,278 55 2,374 8.1 1,972 6.7 403 373 29 1.0 -2,319 .2 13.7 13.5 12.4 12.2 28.1 40.1 5.8 12.7 -20.0 5,512 2,649 48.1 2,155 39.1 494 341 153 18.7 2,864 5,521 2,713 49.1 2,239 40.6 474 380 94 17.5 2,808 5,530 3,057 55.3 2,356 42.6 701 551 150 22.9 2,473 5,539 2,998 54.1 2,382 43.0 616 488 128 20.5 2,541 26 349 6.1 227 3.9 122 147 -25 1.9 -323 .5 13.2 12.6 10.5 10.0 24.7 43.1 -16.3 10.2 -11.3 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 2007 — Continued (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 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 .................................................................................................. 1,534 688 44.8 644 42.0 44 29 15 6.3 846 1,548 627 40.5 585 37.8 41 27 14 6.6 921 1,526 707 46.3 646 42.3 61 43 18 8.7 819 1,511 747 49.4 689 45.6 58 32 26 7.7 764 -23 59 4.6 45 3.6 14 3 11 1.4 -82 -1.5 8.6 10.2 7.0 8.6 32.0 11.3 72.1 21.5 -9.7 6,560 3,776 57.6 3,397 51.8 379 275 104 10.0 2,785 6,572 3,722 56.6 3,327 50.6 394 274 120 10.6 2,851 6,584 3,881 58.9 3,423 52.0 458 351 107 11.8 2,703 6,597 3,928 59.5 3,465 52.5 464 341 123 11.8 2,669 37 152 2.0 68 .7 84 65 19 1.8 -116 .6 4.0 3.5 2.0 1.4 22.3 23.8 18.4 17.5 -4.2 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. 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. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2004-2007 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Employment status, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2004 2005 2006 2007 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 37,443 24,339 65.0 21,717 58.0 2,622 1,892 730 10.8 13,104 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 18,926 12,845 67.9 11,421 60.3 1,424 1,059 365 11.1 6,081 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 18,517 11,494 62.1 10,296 55.6 1,198 833 365 10.4 7,023 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 29,012 19,734 68.0 17,899 61.7 1,835 1,304 531 9.3 9,278 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 5,539 2,998 54.1 2,382 43.0 616 488 128 20.5 2,541 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 2004-2007 — Continued (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Employment status, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2004 2005 2006 2007 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 .................................................................................................. 1,503 786 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 1,511 747 49.4 689 45.6 58 32 26 7.7 764 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 6,597 3,928 59.5 3,465 52.5 464 341 123 11.8 2,669 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. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Table 3. Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2006-2007 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) Total Black or African American White Industry and class of worker 2006 2007 2006 2007 Total employed ..................................................... 21,914 21,717 18,193 17,899 2,361 2,382 631 689 3,534 3,465 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 ................................................ 411 21,503 19,513 67 1,704 1,392 862 530 371 4,548 440 410 959 1,489 2,098 4,909 1,127 345 21,372 19,375 97 1,558 1,398 818 580 442 4,242 479 384 980 1,672 2,238 4,710 1,174 395 17,798 16,218 62 1,558 1,173 729 444 335 3,678 347 316 740 1,250 1,611 4,130 1,018 326 17,574 15,975 91 1,439 1,145 655 491 408 3,456 380 289 784 1,355 1,749 3,861 1,019 9 2,352 2,086 – 100 142 72 70 19 565 75 63 129 161 311 474 48 4 2,377 2,107 4 56 154 94 61 26 505 71 49 108 208 353 490 82 – 631 580 1 8 26 24 2 3 156 6 14 51 35 92 155 32 6 683 625 – 5 71 47 23 0 132 14 19 57 62 69 173 23 116 3,418 3,146 20 512 302 153 149 73 562 71 42 114 268 216 785 181 97 3,368 3,070 10 477 224 71 153 107 589 90 54 171 259 308 612 168 Government ...................................................... Federal ........................................................... State ............................................................... Local ............................................................... 1,516 198 462 856 1,607 171 505 930 1,179 133 354 693 1,267 127 378 763 232 43 60 129 234 25 86 123 41 6 20 14 50 13 21 16 192 25 49 118 196 16 67 113 Self-employed and unpaid family workers ........ 474 390 401 332 34 36 11 9 81 102 – 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 2006 2007 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Asian 2006 2007 2006 2007 all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.