Full text of Summer 2007 : Text File, USDL 07-1284
The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 07-1284
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: 691-5902 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 summer-
time 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 per-
cent), 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.)
- 2 -
Employment
In July 2007, 21.7 million 16- to 24-year-olds were employed. The em-
ployment-population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-year-
old civilian noninstitutional population that was employed--was 58.0 per-
cent, 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 un-
employment 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.)
- 3 -
Technical Note
The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population
Survey (CPS), a national sample survey of 60,000 households conducted month-
ly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau. The
data in this release relate to the employment status of youth (16- to 24-year-
olds) during the months of April-July. This period was selected as being the
most representative time frame in which to measure the full summertime tran-
sition from school to work. July is the peak summer month of youth employment.
Beginning in January 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 de-
pending upon the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured
by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance,
or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no
more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of
sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level
of confidence.
The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error
can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of
the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the
sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct infor-
mation, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and infor-
mation on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Esti-
mates of Error" section of Employment and Earnings.
Definitions
The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly
below.
Employed persons are (a) all those who, during the survey reference
week, did any work at all as paid employees, worked in their own business,
profession, or on their own farm, or who worked 15 hours or more as unpaid
workers in a family-operated enterprise; and (b) all those who did not work
but had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent due to
illness, bad weather, vacation, child-care problems, labor disputes or per-
sonal reasons, whether or not they were paid by their employers for the
time off and whether or not they were seeking other jobs.
- 4 -
Unemployed persons are all persons who had no employment during the ref-
erence week, were available for work, except for temporary illness, and
had made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the 4 weeks
preceding the survey. Persons who were waiting to be recalled to a job
from which they had been laid off need not have been looking for work to
be classified as unemployed.
Civilian labor force comprises all persons classified as employed or
unemployed.
Unemployment rate represents the number of unemployed persons as a
percent of the civilian labor force.
Not in the labor force includes all persons who are not classified as
employed or unemployed.
Industry and class of worker for the employed relate to the job held in
the survey reference week. Persons with two or more jobs are classified in
the job at which they worked the greatest number of hours. In terms of
class-of-worker categories, wage and salary workers are those who receive
wages, salaries, commissions, tips, or pay-in-kind from a private employer
or from a government unit; self-employed persons are those who work for
profit or fees in their own business, profession, or trade, or operate a
farm; and unpaid family workers are persons working without pay for 15
hours a week or more in an enterprise operated by a member of their family.
Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino
ethnicity, April-July 2007
(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
April-July changes (1)
Employment status, sex, race, and April May June July
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Number Percent
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 37,349 37,379 37,410 37,443 94 .3
Civilian labor force........................................... 21,442 21,659 23,981 24,339 2,897 13.5
Participation rate....................................... 57.4 57.9 64.1 65.0 7.6 13.2
Employed..................................................... 19,368 19,457 21,098 21,717 2,349 12.1
Employment-population ratio.............................. 51.9 52.1 56.4 58.0 6.1 11.8
Unemployed................................................... 2,074 2,203 2,883 2,622 548 26.4
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,377 1,546 2,136 1,892 516 37.4
Looking for part-time work............................... 698 656 746 730 32 4.6
Unemployment rate........................................ 9.7 10.2 12.0 10.8 1.1 11.4
Not in labor force............................................. 15,907 15,720 13,429 13,104 -2,803 -17.6
Men
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,882 18,896 18,910 18,926 43 .2
Civilian labor force........................................... 11,274 11,458 12,686 12,845 1,571 13.9
Participation rate....................................... 59.7 60.6 67.1 67.9 8.2 13.7
Employed..................................................... 10,080 10,157 11,020 11,421 1,341 13.3
Employment-population ratio.............................. 53.4 53.7 58.3 60.3 7.0 13.0
Unemployed................................................... 1,194 1,302 1,666 1,424 230 19.3
Looking for full-time work............................... 822 980 1,266 1,059 237 28.8
Looking for part-time work............................... 372 322 400 365 -7 -1.9
Unemployment rate........................................ 10.6 11.4 13.1 11.1 .5 4.7
Not in labor force............................................. 7,609 7,438 6,224 6,081 -1,528 -20.1
Women
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,467 18,483 18,500 18,517 50 .3
Civilian labor force........................................... 10,168 10,201 11,294 11,494 1,326 13.0
Participation rate....................................... 55.1 55.2 61.1 62.1 7.0 12.7
Employed..................................................... 9,288 9,300 10,078 10,296 1,008 10.9
Employment-population ratio.............................. 50.3 50.3 54.5 55.6 5.3 10.6
Unemployed................................................... 880 901 1,216 1,198 318 36.1
Looking for full-time work............................... 555 566 870 833 279 50.2
Looking for part-time work............................... 326 335 346 365 39 12.0
Unemployment rate........................................ 8.7 8.8 10.8 10.4 1.8 20.4
Not in labor force............................................. 8,298 8,282 7,205 7,023 -1,275 -15.4
White
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 28,957 28,974 28,992 29,012 55 .2
Civilian labor force........................................... 17,360 17,540 19,405 19,734 2,374 13.7
Participation rate....................................... 60.0 60.5 66.9 68.0 8.1 13.5
Employed..................................................... 15,928 15,942 17,363 17,899 1,972 12.4
Employment-population ratio.............................. 55.0 55.0 59.9 61.7 6.7 12.2
Unemployed................................................... 1,433 1,598 2,043 1,835 403 28.1
Looking for full-time work............................... 930 1,071 1,495 1,304 373 40.1
Looking for part-time work............................... 502 526 548 531 29 5.8
Unemployment rate........................................ 8.3 9.1 10.5 9.3 1.0 12.7
Not in labor force............................................. 11,597 11,434 9,587 9,278 -2,319 -20.0
Black or African American
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 5,512 5,521 5,530 5,539 26 .5
Civilian labor force........................................... 2,649 2,713 3,057 2,998 349 13.2
Participation rate....................................... 48.1 49.1 55.3 54.1 6.1 12.6
Employed..................................................... 2,155 2,239 2,356 2,382 227 10.5
Employment-population ratio.............................. 39.1 40.6 42.6 43.0 3.9 10.0
Unemployed................................................... 494 474 701 616 122 24.7
Looking for full-time work............................... 341 380 551 488 147 43.1
Looking for part-time work............................... 153 94 150 128 -25 -16.3
Unemployment rate........................................ 18.7 17.5 22.9 20.5 1.9 10.2
Not in labor force............................................. 2,864 2,808 2,473 2,541 -323 -11.3
Asian
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 1,534 1,548 1,526 1,511 -23 -1.5
Civilian labor force........................................... 688 627 707 747 59 8.6
Participation rate....................................... 44.8 40.5 46.3 49.4 4.6 10.2
Employed..................................................... 644 585 646 689 45 7.0
Employment-population ratio.............................. 42.0 37.8 42.3 45.6 3.6 8.6
Unemployed................................................... 44 41 61 58 14 32.0
Looking for full-time work............................... 29 27 43 32 3 11.3
Looking for part-time work............................... 15 14 18 26 11 72.1
Unemployment rate........................................ 6.3 6.6 8.7 7.7 1.4 21.5
Not in labor force............................................. 846 921 819 764 -82 -9.7
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 6,560 6,572 6,584 6,597 37 .6
Civilian labor force........................................... 3,776 3,722 3,881 3,928 152 4.0
Participation rate....................................... 57.6 56.6 58.9 59.5 2.0 3.5
Employed..................................................... 3,397 3,327 3,423 3,465 68 2.0
Employment-population ratio.............................. 51.8 50.6 52.0 52.5 .7 1.4
Unemployed................................................... 379 394 458 464 84 22.3
Looking for full-time work............................... 275 274 351 341 65 23.8
Looking for part-time work............................... 104 120 107 123 19 18.4
Unemployment rate........................................ 10.0 10.6 11.8 11.8 1.8 17.5
Not in labor force............................................. 2,785 2,851 2,703 2,669 -116 -4.2
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 2004 2005 2006 2007
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
TOTAL
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 36,415 36,681 36,989 37,443
Civilian labor force........................................... 24,465 24,436 24,664 24,339
Participation rate....................................... 67.2 66.6 66.7 65.0
Employed..................................................... 21,447 21,749 21,914 21,717
Employment-population ratio.............................. 58.9 59.3 59.2 58.0
Unemployed................................................... 3,018 2,688 2,750 2,622
Looking for full-time work............................... 2,212 1,916 2,028 1,892
Looking for part-time work............................... 806 771 722 730
Unemployment rate........................................ 12.3 11.0 11.2 10.8
Not in labor force............................................. 11,950 12,244 12,324 13,104
Men
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,356 18,501 18,675 18,926
Civilian labor force........................................... 12,925 12,871 13,024 12,845
Participation rate....................................... 70.4 69.6 69.7 67.9
Employed..................................................... 11,373 11,393 11,568 11,421
Employment-population ratio.............................. 62.0 61.6 61.9 60.3
Unemployed................................................... 1,552 1,478 1,456 1,424
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,176 1,077 1,152 1,059
Looking for part-time work............................... 377 401 303 365
Unemployment rate........................................ 12.0 11.5 11.2 11.1
Not in labor force............................................. 5,431 5,630 5,651 6,081
Women
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 18,059 18,180 18,314 18,517
Civilian labor force........................................... 11,540 11,566 11,641 11,494
Participation rate....................................... 63.9 63.6 63.6 62.1
Employed..................................................... 10,074 10,356 10,346 10,296
Employment-population ratio.............................. 55.8 57.0 56.5 55.6
Unemployed................................................... 1,465 1,209 1,295 1,198
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,036 839 876 833
Looking for part-time work............................... 429 370 419 365
Unemployment rate........................................ 12.7 10.5 11.1 10.4
Not in labor force............................................. 6,519 6,614 6,673 7,023
White
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 28,410 28,566 28,736 29,012
Civilian labor force........................................... 19,859 19,712 20,002 19,734
Participation rate....................................... 69.9 69.0 69.6 68.0
Employed..................................................... 17,848 17,944 18,193 17,899
Employment-population ratio.............................. 62.8 62.8 63.3 61.7
Unemployed................................................... 2,011 1,768 1,808 1,835
Looking for full-time work............................... 1,406 1,234 1,289 1,304
Looking for part-time work............................... 605 533 520 531
Unemployment rate........................................ 10.1 9.0 9.0 9.3
Not in labor force............................................. 8,551 8,854 8,735 9,278
Black or African American
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 5,245 5,317 5,426 5,539
Civilian labor force........................................... 3,029 3,097 3,133 2,998
Participation rate....................................... 57.7 58.3 57.7 54.1
Employed..................................................... 2,224 2,378 2,361 2,382
Employment-population ratio.............................. 42.4 44.7 43.5 43.0
Unemployed................................................... 804 719 772 616
Looking for full-time work............................... 666 544 617 488
Looking for part-time work............................... 138 176 155 128
Unemployment rate........................................ 26.6 23.2 24.7 20.5
Not in labor force............................................. 2,216 2,220 2,293 2,541
Asian
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 1,503 1,497 1,474 1,511
Civilian labor force........................................... 786 794 687 747
Participation rate....................................... 52.3 53.1 46.6 49.4
Employed..................................................... 719 699 631 689
Employment-population ratio.............................. 47.8 46.7 42.8 45.6
Unemployed................................................... 68 95 56 58
Looking for full-time work............................... 46 58 33 32
Looking for part-time work............................... 22 38 23 26
Unemployment rate........................................ 8.6 12.0 8.2 7.7
Not in labor force............................................. 716 702 787 764
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 6,275 6,335 6,406 6,597
Civilian labor force........................................... 3,926 3,800 3,943 3,928
Participation rate....................................... 62.6 60.0 61.5 59.5
Employed..................................................... 3,428 3,428 3,534 3,465
Employment-population ratio.............................. 54.6 54.1 55.2 52.5
Unemployed................................................... 498 372 409 464
Looking for full-time work............................... 373 292 287 341
Looking for part-time work............................... 125 80 122 123
Unemployment rate........................................ 12.7 9.8 10.4 11.8
Not in labor force............................................. 2,349 2,536 2,463 2,669
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 White Black or African Asian Hispanic or
American Latino ethnicity
Industry and class of worker
2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 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.... 411 345 395 326 9 4 - 6 116 97
Nonagricultural industries............ 21,503 21,372 17,798 17,574 2,352 2,377 631 683 3,418 3,368
Private wage and salary workers..... 19,513 19,375 16,218 15,975 2,086 2,107 580 625 3,146 3,070
Mining............................ 67 97 62 91 - 4 1 - 20 10
Construction...................... 1,704 1,558 1,558 1,439 100 56 8 5 512 477
Manufacturing..................... 1,392 1,398 1,173 1,145 142 154 26 71 302 224
Durable goods................... 862 818 729 655 72 94 24 47 153 71
Nondurable goods................ 530 580 444 491 70 61 2 23 149 153
Wholesale trade................... 371 442 335 408 19 26 3 0 73 107
Retail trade...................... 4,548 4,242 3,678 3,456 565 505 156 132 562 589
Transportation and utilities...... 440 479 347 380 75 71 6 14 71 90
Information....................... 410 384 316 289 63 49 14 19 42 54
Financial activities.............. 959 980 740 784 129 108 51 57 114 171
Professional and business services 1,489 1,672 1,250 1,355 161 208 35 62 268 259
Education and health services..... 2,098 2,238 1,611 1,749 311 353 92 69 216 308
Leisure and hospitality........... 4,909 4,710 4,130 3,861 474 490 155 173 785 612
Other services.................... 1,127 1,174 1,018 1,019 48 82 32 23 181 168
Government.......................... 1,516 1,607 1,179 1,267 232 234 41 50 192 196
Federal........................... 198 171 133 127 43 25 6 13 25 16
State............................. 462 505 354 378 60 86 20 21 49 67
Local............................. 856 930 693 763 129 123 14 16 118 113
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 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.