1

Technical information: (202) 691-6378

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

Media contact: 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 May June July

April-July changes1

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

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 May June July

April-July changes1

Number Percent

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 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2004 2005 2006 2007

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

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 ......................................................................... 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.)

Industry and class of worker

Total White Black or African

American Asian Hispanic or Latinoethnicity

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.