1

Technical information: (202) 691-6378

 http://www.bls.gov/cps/

Media contact: 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 May June July

April-July changes1

Number Percent

TOTAL

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 36,854 36,897 36,943 36,989 135 .4

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 21,498 22,023 24,128 24,664 3,166 14.7

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 58.3 59.7 65.3 66.7 8.3 14.3

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 19,406 19,769 21,268 21,914 2,508 12.9

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 52.7 53.6 57.6 59.2 6.6 12.5

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 2,092 2,254 2,860 2,750 658 31.5

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 1,432 1,575 2,044 2,028 596 41.6

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 660 679 817 722 62 9.4

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 9.7 10.2 11.9 11.2 1.4 14.6

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 15,356 14,874 12,815 12,324 -3,031 -19.7

Men

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 18,603 18,626 18,651 18,675 71 .4

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 11,308 11,649 12,771 13,024 1,716 15.2

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 60.8 62.5 68.5 69.7 9.0 14.7

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 10,093 10,324 11,225 11,568 1,475 14.6

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 54.3 55.4 60.2 61.9 7.7 14.2

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 1,215 1,324 1,546 1,456 240 19.8

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 865 1,007 1,172 1,152 288 33.3

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 351 317 374 303 -47 -13.5

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 10.7 11.4 12.1 11.2 .4 4.0

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 7,295 6,978 5,879 5,651 -1,644 -22.5

Women

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 18,250 18,271 18,293 18,314 64 .4

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 10,190 10,375 11,357 11,641 1,451 14.2

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 55.8 56.8 62.1 63.6 7.7 13.8

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 9,313 9,445 10,043 10,346 1,033 11.1

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 51.0 51.7 54.9 56.5 5.5 10.7

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 877 930 1,314 1,295 418 47.7

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 567 568 871 876 308 54.3

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 309 361 443 419 109 35.4

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 8.6 9.0 11.6 11.1 2.5 29.3

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 8,060 7,896 6,936 6,673 -1,387 -17.2

White

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 28,647 28,675 28,706 28,736 90 .3

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 17,424 17,801 19,596 20,002 2,578 14.8

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 60.8 62.1 68.3 69.6 8.8 14.4

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 16,009 16,204 17,584 18,193 2,185 13.6

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 55.9 56.5 61.3 63.3 7.4 13.3

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 1,415 1,596 2,012 1,808 393 27.8

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 917 1,063 1,413 1,289 371 40.5

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 498 533 599 520 22 4.3

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 8.1 9.0 10.3 9.0 .9 11.3

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 11,223 10,875 9,110 8,735 -2,488 -22.2

Black or African American

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 5,393 5,404 5,415 5,426 33 .6

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 2,733 2,854 3,006 3,133 400 14.6

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 50.7 52.8 55.5 57.7 7.1 14.0

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 2,208 2,332 2,357 2,361 153 6.9

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 40.9 43.2 43.5 43.5 2.6 6.3

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 525 522 649 772 247 47.1

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 409 418 483 617 208 50.8

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 116 104 166 155 39 33.9

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 19.2 18.3 21.6 24.7 5.4 28.3

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 2,660 2,550 2,408 2,293 -368 -13.8

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.)

Employment status, sex, race, and 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity April May June July

April-July changes1

Number Percent

Asian

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 1,463 1,475 1,474 1,474 11 .8

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 602 619 678 687 86 14.2

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 41.1 42.0 46.0 46.6 5.5 13.4

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 562 581 601 631 69 12.3

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 38.4 39.4 40.7 42.8 4.4 11.5

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 40 38 78 56 16 41.4

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 31 25 58 33 2 6.3

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 9 13 20 23 15 169.5

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 6.6 6.1 11.5 8.2 1.6 23.8

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 861 856 796 787 -75 -8.7

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 6,372 6,383 6,394 6,406 34 .5

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 3,664 3,712 3,854 3,943 279 7.6

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 57.5 58.1 60.3 61.5 4.0 7.0

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 3,339 3,386 3,414 3,534 195 5.8

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 52.4 53.0 53.4 55.2 2.8 5.3

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 325 326 440 409 84 25.8

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 229 239 331 287 58 25.3

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 96 87 109 122 26 27.1

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 8.9 8.8 11.4 10.4 1.5 16.9

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 2,708 2,671 2,540 2,463 -245 -9.0

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

TOTAL

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 35,905 36,415 36,681 36,989

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 24,150 24,465 24,436 24,664

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 67.3 67.2 66.6 66.7

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 20,950 21,447 21,749 21,914

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 58.3 58.9 59.3 59.2

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 3,200 3,018 2,688 2,750

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 2,448 2,212 1,916 2,028

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 753 806 771 722

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 13.3 12.3 11.0 11.2

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 11,755 11,950 12,244 12,324

Men

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 18,042 18,356 18,501 18,675

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 12,635 12,925 12,871 13,024

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 70.0 70.4 69.6 69.7

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 10,838 11,373 11,393 11,568

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 60.1 62.0 61.6 61.9

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 1,796 1,552 1,478 1,456

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 1,416 1,176 1,077 1,152

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 381 377 401 303

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 14.2 12.0 11.5 11.2

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 5,407 5,431 5,630 5,651

Women

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 17,863 18,059 18,180 18,314

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 11,516 11,540 11,566 11,641

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 64.5 63.9 63.6 63.6

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 10,112 10,074 10,356 10,346

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 56.6 55.8 57.0 56.5

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 1,404 1,465 1,209 1,295

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 1,032 1,036 839 876

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 372 429 370 419

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 12.2 12.7 10.5 11.1

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 6,348 6,519 6,614 6,673

White

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 28,066 28,410 28,566 28,736

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 19,749 19,859 19,712 20,002

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 70.4 69.9 69.0 69.6

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 17,566 17,848 17,944 18,193

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 62.6 62.8 62.8 63.3

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 2,182 2,011 1,768 1,808

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 1,611 1,406 1,234 1,289

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 571 605 533 520

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 11.1 10.1 9.0 9.0

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 8,317 8,551 8,854 8,735

Black or African American

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 5,159 5,245 5,317 5,426

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 2,930 3,029 3,097 3,133

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 56.8 57.7 58.3 57.7

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 2,150 2,224 2,378 2,361

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 41.7 42.4 44.7 43.5

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 780 804 719 772

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 655 666 544 617

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 125 138 176 155

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 26.6 26.6 23.2 24.7

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 2,229 2,216 2,220 2,293

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 ......................................................................... 1,464 1,503 1,497 1,474

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 740 786 794 687

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 50.5 52.3 53.1 46.6

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 642 719 699 631

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 43.8 47.8 46.7 42.8

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 98 68 95 56

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 63 46 58 33

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 34 22 38 23

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 13.2 8.6 12.0 8.2

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 724 716 702 787

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 6,079 6,275 6,335 6,406

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 3,772 3,926 3,800 3,943

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 62.0 62.6 60.0 61.5

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 3,244 3,428 3,428 3,534

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 53.4 54.6 54.1 55.2

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 528 498 372 409

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 406 373 292 287

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 121 125 80 122

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 14.0 12.7 9.8 10.4

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 2,307 2,349 2,536 2,463

 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.)

Industry and class of worker

Total White Black or African

American Asian Hispanic or Latinoethnicity

2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006 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 ....................... 341 411 320 395 11 9 – – 80 116

 Nonagricultural industries ................................... 21,407 21,503 17,624 17,798 2,367 2,352 699 631 3,347 3,418

 Private wage and salary workers ...................... 19,410 19,513 16,066 16,218 2,066 2,086 642 580 3,102 3,146

 Mining ............................................................. 57 67 43 62 11 – 2 1 19 20

 Construction ................................................... 1,551 1,704 1,406 1,558 91 100 7 8 453 512

 Manufacturing ................................................. 1,423 1,392 1,166 1,173 171 142 27 26 298 302

 Durable goods .............................................. 853 862 736 729 70 72 14 24 179 153

 Nondurable goods ........................................ 570 530 429 444 100 70 14 2 119 149

 Wholesale trade .............................................. 414 371 342 335 33 19 19 3 71 73

 Retail trade ..................................................... 4,384 4,548 3,590 3,678 498 565 138 156 564 562

 Transportation and utilities ............................. 510 440 412 347 68 75 5 6 70 71

 Information ...................................................... 422 410 333 316 61 63 15 14 49 42

 Financial activities .......................................... 1,142 959 954 740 96 129 59 51 210 114

 Professional and business services ............... 1,563 1,489 1,245 1,250 215 161 62 35 262 268

 Education and health services ........................ 2,072 2,098 1,646 1,611 295 311 91 92 229 216

 Leisure and hospitality .................................... 4,770 4,909 3,979 4,130 455 474 167 155 694 785

 Other services ................................................ 1,103 1,127 951 1,018 72 48 50 32 183 181

 Government ...................................................... 1,577 1,516 1,186 1,179 286 232 37 41 159 192

 Federal ........................................................... 230 198 166 133 49 43 5 6 19 25

 State ............................................................... 470 462 342 354 97 60 27 20 37 49

 Local ............................................................... 877 856 678 693 140 129 5 14 103 118

 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

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.