For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, August 16, 2019 USDL-19-1477 

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH — SUMMER 2019 

From April to July 2019, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by 2.4 

million to 21.2 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In July 2019, 56.2 

percent of young people were employed, up from 55.0 percent in July 2018. (The month of July 

typically is the summertime peak in youth employment.) The unemployment rate for youth was 

9.1 percent in July, the lowest rate since July 1966, and little changed from the prior year. 

(Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes in youth employment and unemployment 

that occur each 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 search for or take summer jobs, and many graduates enter the labor market 

to look for or begin permanent employment. This summer, the youth labor force grew by 3.0 

million, or 14.9 percent, to a total of 23.3 million in July. (See table 1.) 

The labor force participation rate for all youth was 61.8 percent in July, an increase of 1.2 

percentage points from a year earlier. (The labor force participation rate is the proportion of the 

civilian noninstitutional population that is working or looking and available for work.) (See table 

2.) This year, the July labor force participation rate was notably higher than the July rates for the 

prior 9 years. The summer youth labor force participation rate peaked at 77.5 percent in July 

1989. 

The July 2019 labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-old men, at 63.2 percent, was up 

2.1 percentage points over the year. The rate for young women, at 60.4 percent, changed little

during the same period. Continuing a long-standing pattern, Whites had the highest youth labor 

force participation rate in July 2019, at 64.1 percent. The rate for Blacks was 58.3 percent, for 

Asians 44.6 percent, and for Hispanics 57.8 percent. Over the year, the labor force participation 

rate rose for Whites (+1.3 percentage points), Blacks (+1.8 points), and Asians (+1.3 points), but 

was little changed for Hispanics.
-2-

Employment

In July 2019, there were 21.2 million employed 16- to 24-year-olds. Between April and July 

2019, the number of employed youth rose by 2.4 million, or 12.8 percent. This was somewhat 

larger than the increase between April and July 2018, when employment rose by 2.0 million, or 

10.7 percent. The employment-population ratio for youth—the proportion of the 16- to 24-yearold civilian noninstitutional population with a job—was 56.2 percent in July 2019, an increase of 

1.2 percentage points from the prior year. (See tables 1 and 2.) 

Employment-population ratios in July 2019 were higher than a year earlier for young men (57.3 

percent), Whites (58.9 percent), Blacks (49.8 percent), and Asians (41.0 percent). The 

employment-population ratios for young women (55.1 percent) and Hispanics (51.3 percent) 

were little different from the prior summer. 

In July 2019, the largest percentage of employed youth worked in the leisure and hospitality 

industry (25 percent), which includes food services. An additional 17 percent of employed youth 

worked in the retail trade industry, and 13 percent worked in education and health services. (See 

table 3.) 

Unemployment

Unemployment among youth rose by 615,000 from April to July 2019, similar to the increase for 

the same period in 2018. 

The youth unemployment rate, at 9.1 percent in July 2019, was little changed from July 2018. 

This represents the lowest summer youth unemployment rate since July 1966. The number of 

unemployed youth was 2.1 million in July 2019, little different from a year earlier. Of the 2.1 

million unemployed 16- to 24-year-olds, 1.4 million were looking for full-time work in July 

2019, also little changed from July 2018. (See tables 1 and 2.) 

The July 2019 unemployment rates for young men (9.4 percent), women (8.8 percent), Whites 

(8.0 percent), Asians (8.2 percent), and Hispanics (11.3 percent) were little changed from the 

summer before. The rate for young Blacks (14.6 percent) declined 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 about 60,000 eligible 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 of each year, data reflect revised 

population controls used in the CPS. Additional information 

about population controls is available on the BLS website at 

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop. 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339. 

Reliability of the estimates 

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 component of this difference that occurs 

because samples differ by chance is known as sampling 

error, and its 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. 

More information on the reliability of data from the 

CPS and estimating standard errors is available online at 

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability. 

Definitions 

The principal definitions used in this release are 

described briefly below. 

Employed. Employed persons are all those who, during 

the survey reference week (which is generally the week 

including the 12th day of the month), (a) did any work at all 

as paid employees; (b) worked in their own business, 

profession, or on their own farm; (c) worked 15 hours or 

more as unpaid workers in a family member’s business. 

Persons who were temporarily absent from their jobs 

because of illness, bad weather, vacation, labor dispute, or 

another reason also are counted as employed. 

Unemployed. The unemployed are those who had no 

employment during the reference week, were available for 

work at that time, and had made specific efforts to find 

employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with 

the reference week. 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. 

Looking for full-time work refers to 35 hours or more per 

week; part-time work refers to fewer than 35 hours per 

week. 

Civilian labor force. This group comprises all persons 

classified as employed or unemployed. 

Unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is the 

number of unemployed persons as a percent of the civilian 

labor force. 

Labor force participation rate. The labor force 

participation rate is the labor force as a percent of the 

population. 

Employment-population ratio. The employmentpopulation ratio is the employed as a percent of the 

population. 

Not in the labor force. Included in this group are all 

persons in the civilian noninstitutional population who are 

neither employed nor unemployed. 

Industry and class of worker. This information applies 

to the job held during the reference week. Persons with two 

or more jobs are classified in the job at which they worked 

the greatest number of hours. Persons are classified using the 

2012 Census industry classification system. The class-ofworker breakdown assigns workers to the following 

categories: Private and government wage and salary workers, 

unincorporated self-employed workers, and unpaid family 

workers. 

Wage and salary workers. Included in this group are 

persons who receive wages, salary, commissions, tips, or 

pay in kind from a private employer or from a government 

entity. 

Self-employed workers. Included in this group are those 

who work for profit or fees in their own unincorporated 

business, profession, trade, or farm. Only unincorporated 

self-employed are included in the self-employed category. 

Self-employed persons whose businesses are incorporated 

are included with private wage and salary workers. 

Unpaid family workers. Included in this group are 

persons working without pay for 15 hours a week or more on 

a farm or in a business operated by a family member in their 

household. 
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 2019

[Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.]

Employment status, sex, race, and

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity April May June July

April-July changes

Number Percent

TOTAL

Civilian noninstitutional population................................... 37,762 37,750 37,738 37,729 -33 -0.1

Civilian labor force.................................................. 20,286 20,968 22,751 23,311 3,025 14.9

Participation rate.................................................. 53.7 55.5 60.3 61.8 8.1 15.1

Employed.......................................................... 18,786 19,177 20,639 21,196 2,410 12.8

Employment-population ratio................................. 49.7 50.8 54.7 56.2 6.5 13.1

Unemployed....................................................... 1,500 1,792 2,111 2,115 615 41.0

Looking for full-time work..................................... 936 1,280 1,502 1,447 511 54.6

Looking for part-time work.................................... 564 511 609 668 104 18.4

Unemployment rate.............................................. 7.4 8.5 9.3 9.1 1.7 23.0

Not in labor force.................................................... 17,476 16,781 14,988 14,417 -3,059 -17.5

Men

Civilian noninstitutional population................................... 18,986 18,978 18,971 18,964 -22 -0.1

Civilian labor force.................................................. 10,311 10,714 11,749 11,977 1,666 16.2

Participation rate.................................................. 54.3 56.5 61.9 63.2 8.9 16.4

Employed.......................................................... 9,413 9,682 10,549 10,857 1,444 15.3

Employment-population ratio................................. 49.6 51.0 55.6 57.3 7.7 15.5

Unemployed....................................................... 899 1,032 1,200 1,120 221 24.6

Looking for full-time work..................................... 598 760 906 803 205 34.3

Looking for part-time work.................................... 301 272 295 317 16 5.3

Unemployment rate.............................................. 8.7 9.6 10.2 9.4 0.7 8.0

Not in labor force.................................................... 8,675 8,264 7,221 6,987 -1,688 -19.5

Women

Civilian noninstitutional population................................... 18,776 18,772 18,768 18,765 -11 -0.1

Civilian labor force.................................................. 9,974 10,254 11,001 11,334 1,360 13.6

Participation rate.................................................. 53.1 54.6 58.6 60.4 7.3 13.7

Employed.......................................................... 9,374 9,494 10,090 10,339 965 10.3

Employment-population ratio................................. 49.9 50.6 53.8 55.1 5.2 10.4

Unemployed....................................................... 601 760 911 995 394 65.6

Looking for full-time work..................................... 338 520 597 645 307 90.8

Looking for part-time work.................................... 263 240 314 350 87 33.1

Unemployment rate.............................................. 6.0 7.4 8.3 8.8 2.8 46.7

Not in labor force.................................................... 8,801 8,517 7,766 7,430 -1,371 -15.6

White

Civilian noninstitutional population................................... 27,694 27,681 27,669 27,658 -36 -0.1

Civilian labor force.................................................. 15,385 15,882 17,308 17,716 2,331 15.2

Participation rate.................................................. 55.6 57.4 62.6 64.1 8.5 15.3

Employed.......................................................... 14,416 14,686 15,889 16,295 1,879 13.0

Employment-population ratio................................. 52.1 53.1 57.4 58.9 6.8 13.1

Unemployed....................................................... 969 1,196 1,419 1,421 452 46.6

Looking for full-time work..................................... 606 804 942 938 332 54.8

Looking for part-time work.................................... 363 392 478 483 120 33.1

Unemployment rate.............................................. 6.3 7.5 8.2 8.0 1.7 27.0

Not in labor force.................................................... 12,309 11,799 10,361 9,942 -2,367 -19.2

Black or African American

Civilian noninstitutional population................................... 5,579 5,573 5,567 5,561 -18 -0.3

Civilian labor force.................................................. 2,838 2,888 3,093 3,243 405 14.3

Participation rate.................................................. 50.9 51.8 55.6 58.3 7.4 14.5

Employed.......................................................... 2,460 2,466 2,633 2,771 311 12.6

Employment-population ratio................................. 44.1 44.3 47.3 49.8 5.7 12.9

Unemployed....................................................... 377 422 460 472 95 25.2

Looking for full-time work..................................... 228 353 383 374 146 64.0

Looking for part-time work.................................... 149 69 78 98 -51 -34.2

Unemployment rate.............................................. 13.3 14.6 14.9 14.6 1.3 9.8

Not in labor force.................................................... 2,741 2,685 2,474 2,318 -423 -15.4
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 2019 — Continued

[Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.]

Employment status, sex, race, and

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity April May June July

April-July changes

Number Percent

Asian

Civilian noninstitutional population................................... 2,331 2,353 2,389 2,387 56 2.4

Civilian labor force.................................................. 866 893 1,017 1,065 199 23.0

Participation rate.................................................. 37.1 38.0 42.6 44.6 7.5 20.2

Employed.......................................................... 834 845 967 978 144 17.3

Employment-population ratio................................. 35.8 35.9 40.5 41.0 5.2 14.5

Unemployed....................................................... 31 48 50 87 56 180.6

Looking for full-time work..................................... 17 25 25 37 20 117.6

Looking for part-time work.................................... 15 23 25 50 35 233.3

Unemployment rate.............................................. 3.6 5.4 4.9 8.2 4.6 127.8

Not in labor force.................................................... 1,465 1,460 1,371 1,322 -143 -9.8

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Civilian noninstitutional population................................... 8,722 8,731 8,740 8,750 28 0.3

Civilian labor force.................................................. 4,472 4,606 4,914 5,059 587 13.1

Participation rate.................................................. 51.3 52.8 56.2 57.8 6.5 12.7

Employed.......................................................... 4,162 4,247 4,435 4,485 323 7.8

Employment-population ratio................................. 47.7 48.6 50.7 51.3 3.6 7.5

Unemployed....................................................... 310 358 479 574 264 85.2

Looking for full-time work..................................... 211 239 328 384 173 82.0

Looking for part-time work.................................... 99 119 151 190 91 91.9

Unemployment rate.............................................. 6.9 7.8 9.7 11.3 4.4 63.8

Not in labor force.................................................... 4,249 4,125 3,826 3,691 -558 -13.1

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 2016-2019

[Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.]

Employment status, sex, race, and

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

July

2016

July

2017

July

2018

July

2019

TOTAL

Civilian noninstitutional population...................................................... 38,450 38,152 37,997 37,729

Civilian labor force..................................................................... 23,104 23,107 23,016 23,311

Participation rate..................................................................... 60.1 60.6 60.6 61.8

Employed............................................................................. 20,456 20,890 20,897 21,196

Employment-population ratio.................................................... 53.2 54.8 55.0 56.2

Unemployed.......................................................................... 2,648 2,217 2,119 2,115

Looking for full-time work........................................................ 1,912 1,607 1,458 1,447

Looking for part-time work....................................................... 736 610 660 668

Unemployment rate................................................................. 11.5 9.6 9.2 9.1

Not in labor force....................................................................... 15,346 15,045 14,981 14,417

Men

Civilian noninstitutional population...................................................... 19,380 19,219 19,128 18,964

Civilian labor force..................................................................... 12,094 11,983 11,695 11,977

Participation rate..................................................................... 62.4 62.3 61.1 63.2

Employed............................................................................. 10,638 10,773 10,550 10,857

Employment-population ratio.................................................... 54.9 56.1 55.2 57.3

Unemployed.......................................................................... 1,455 1,210 1,145 1,120

Looking for full-time work........................................................ 1,169 944 828 803

Looking for part-time work....................................................... 286 266 317 317

Unemployment rate................................................................. 12.0 10.1 9.8 9.4

Not in labor force....................................................................... 7,287 7,236 7,433 6,987

Women

Civilian noninstitutional population...................................................... 19,069 18,932 18,869 18,765

Civilian labor force..................................................................... 11,010 11,124 11,321 11,334

Participation rate..................................................................... 57.7 58.8 60.0 60.4

Employed............................................................................. 9,818 10,117 10,347 10,339

Employment-population ratio.................................................... 51.5 53.4 54.8 55.1

Unemployed.......................................................................... 1,193 1,007 974 995

Looking for full-time work........................................................ 743 663 630 645

Looking for part-time work....................................................... 450 344 344 350

Unemployment rate................................................................. 10.8 9.1 8.6 8.8

Not in labor force....................................................................... 8,059 7,808 7,548 7,430

White

Civilian noninstitutional population...................................................... 28,297 28,038 27,866 27,658

Civilian labor force..................................................................... 17,734 17,423 17,509 17,716

Participation rate..................................................................... 62.7 62.1 62.8 64.1

Employed............................................................................. 15,981 16,031 16,174 16,295

Employment-population ratio.................................................... 56.5 57.2 58.0 58.9

Unemployed.......................................................................... 1,754 1,392 1,335 1,421

Looking for full-time work........................................................ 1,222 974 863 938

Looking for part-time work....................................................... 532 418 471 483

Unemployment rate................................................................. 9.9 8.0 7.6 8.0

Not in labor force....................................................................... 10,562 10,615 10,357 9,942

Black or African American

Civilian noninstitutional population...................................................... 5,850 5,749 5,668 5,561

Civilian labor force..................................................................... 3,149 3,214 3,203 3,243

Participation rate..................................................................... 53.8 55.9 56.5 58.3

Employed............................................................................. 2,499 2,694 2,675 2,771

Employment-population ratio.................................................... 42.7 46.9 47.2 49.8

Unemployed.......................................................................... 650 520 528 472

Looking for full-time work........................................................ 533 412 438 374

Looking for part-time work....................................................... 117 108 90 98

Unemployment rate................................................................. 20.6 16.2 16.5 14.6

Not in labor force....................................................................... 2,701 2,535 2,465 2,318
Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2016-2019 — Continued

[Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.]

Employment status, sex, race, and

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

July

2016

July

2017

July

2018

July

2019

Asian

Civilian noninstitutional population...................................................... 2,212 2,208 2,302 2,387

Civilian labor force..................................................................... 954 1,047 997 1,065

Participation rate..................................................................... 43.1 47.4 43.3 44.6

Employed............................................................................. 859 944 913 978

Employment-population ratio.................................................... 38.8 42.7 39.7 41.0

Unemployed.......................................................................... 95 103 84 87

Looking for full-time work........................................................ 65 70 59 37

Looking for part-time work....................................................... 30 33 25 50

Unemployment rate................................................................. 10.0 9.9 8.4 8.2

Not in labor force....................................................................... 1,258 1,162 1,305 1,322

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Civilian noninstitutional population...................................................... 8,497 8,535 8,687 8,750

Civilian labor force..................................................................... 4,776 4,835 5,035 5,059

Participation rate..................................................................... 56.2 56.6 58.0 57.8

Employed............................................................................. 4,235 4,347 4,492 4,485

Employment-population ratio.................................................... 49.8 50.9 51.7 51.3

Unemployed.......................................................................... 540 488 543 574

Looking for full-time work........................................................ 385 353 362 384

Looking for part-time work....................................................... 155 135 181 190

Unemployment rate................................................................. 11.3 10.1 10.8 11.3

Not in labor force....................................................................... 3,721 3,700 3,652 3,691

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 2018-2019

[Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.]

Industry and class of worker

Total White Black or African

American Asian Hispanic or Latinoethnicity

July

2018

July

2019

July

2018

July

2019

July

2018

July

2019

July

2018

July

2019

July

2018

July

2019

Total employed.................................. 20,897 21,196 16,174 16,295 2,675 2,771 913 978 4,492 4,485

Agriculture and related industries.......... 391 322 360 290 8 3 0 9 103 66

Nonagricultural industries................... 20,506 20,874 15,814 16,005 2,667 2,768 913 969 4,389 4,419

Private wage and salary workers1

....... 18,720 19,008 14,468 14,568 2,414 2,542 833 897 4,125 4,104

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas

extraction.............................. 77 66 75 52 0 7 0 0 23 15

Construction............................. 1,000 1,135 888 955 44 83 13 13 283 308

Manufacturing........................... 1,409 1,451 1,124 1,159 141 157 72 53 306 298

Durable goods........................ 815 972 684 770 66 113 35 41 147 183

Nondurable goods.................... 595 480 439 389 74 44 37 12 159 115

Wholesale trade......................... 304 266 234 200 52 53 13 9 77 62

Retail trade.............................. 3,682 3,647 2,800 2,708 574 583 164 140 840 809

Transportation and utilities............. 577 663 447 435 73 145 16 40 184 169

Information............................... 276 277 212 204 25 34 23 31 49 41

Financial activities...................... 797 728 621 556 99 92 30 46 176 173

Professional and business services... 1,738 1,706 1,322 1,327 232 182 108 131 389 361

Education and health services........ 2,383 2,844 1,778 2,108 404 447 83 144 469 557

Leisure and hospitality................. 5,463 5,282 4,158 4,083 666 661 270 247 1,125 1,189

Other services........................... 1,014 941 812 781 104 97 41 44 204 123

Government wage and salary

workers................................... 1,398 1,466 1,064 1,119 190 193 66 53 176 239

Federal................................... 177 219 100 162 48 35 9 6 18 44

State...................................... 465 507 375 381 47 62 30 30 44 59

Local...................................... 757 740 589 575 96 96 28 17 114 136

Self-employed, unincorporated, and

unpaid family workers.................. 388 401 282 318 62 34 14 18 88 76

1

Includes self-employed workers whose businesses are incorporated.

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.