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Technical information: (202) 691-6378

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 05-1565

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Friday, August 19, 2005

EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH—SUMMER 2005

The number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by 2.7 million to 21.7 million from April to

July 2005, 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

larger than last year’s 2.3 million increase. Unemployment among youth rose by 290,000 between April and

July 2005, compared with an increase of 631,000 from April to July 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 to begin permanent employment. This summer, the youth labor force grew by 3.0 million to a total of 24.4 million in July.

(See table 1.)

The July labor force participation rate for youth (the proportion of their population working or looking

for work) was 66.6 percent in 2005. The July participation rate for youth has been trending down since the

early 1990s. The 2005 rate was the lowest for July since 1965. The labor force participation rate for young

men in July 2005, 69.6 percent, edged lower from a year earlier when it was 70.4 percent. This July’s labor

force participation rates for young women (63.6 percent), whites (69.0 percent), blacks (58.3 percent), Hispanics or Latinos (60.0 percent), and Asians (53.1 percent) were little changed over the year. (See table 2.)

The proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds enrolled in school in July 2005 (27.8 percent) decreased slightly

from July 2004 (28.9 percent). The proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds enrolled in school in July has grown

over the last decade from 16.6 percent in July 1995 to 27.8 percent in July 2005. Only about half of the

youth enrolled in school were in the labor force in July, compared with about three-fourths of those not in

school.

Employment

There were 21.7 million 16- to 24-year-olds employed in July 2005, an increase of 302,000 from July

2004. The employment-population ratio for youth—the proportion of the 16- to 24-year-old civilian

noninstitutional population that was employed—was 59.3 percent in July 2005. The ratio had fallen by

6.9 percentage points between July 1999 and July 2003 before edging up in the past two summers. The

employment-population ratios for young men (61.6 percent), women (57.0 percent), whites (62.8 percent),
2

blacks (44.7 percent), Asians (46.7 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (54.1 percent) were little changed

from a year earlier.

In July 2005, 22 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and hospitality industry and 20 percent

worked in retail trade. In addition, large percentages of employed youth worked in education and health

services, professional and business services, construction, and manufacturing. (See table 3.)

Unemployment

In July 2005, 2.7 million youth were unemployed; this was a decrease of 330,000 from a year earlier.

The youth unemployment rate, 11.0 percent, was down from 12.3 percent in July 2004. The unemployment rate for young men was little changed over the year at 11.5 percent, while the rate for young women

decreased by 2.2 percentage points to 10.5 percent. The jobless rates for young whites, blacks, and Hispanics or Latinos 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 2005, 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 2005” in the

February 2005 issue of Employment and Earnings, available at

http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps05adj.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 2005

(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 ......................................................................... 36,601 36,627 36,654 36,681 79 0.2

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 21,468 21,976 23,959 24,436 2,968 13.8

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 58.7 60.0 65.4 66.6 8.0 13.6

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 19,071 19,356 20,949 21,749 2,678 14.0

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 52.1 52.8 57.2 59.3 7.2 13.8

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 2,398 2,619 3,010 2,688 290 12.1

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 1,591 1,780 2,155 1,916 325 20.4

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 807 839 855 771 -35 -4.4

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 11.2 11.9 12.6 11.0 -.2 -1.5

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 15,133 14,651 12,695 12,244 -2,889 -19.1

Men

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 18,456 18,471 18,486 18,501 45 .2

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 11,182 11,431 12,634 12,871 1,689 15.1

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 60.6 61.9 68.3 69.6 9.0 14.8

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 9,783 10,015 10,956 11,393 1,609 16.4

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 53.0 54.2 59.3 61.6 8.6 16.2

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 1,398 1,416 1,677 1,478 80 5.7

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 960 987 1,196 1,077 117 12.2

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 438 429 481 401 -37 -8.5

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 12.5 12.4 13.3 11.5 -1.0 -8.2

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 7,275 7,040 5,852 5,630 -1,645 -22.6

Women

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 18,145 18,156 18,168 18,180 35 .2

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 10,287 10,545 11,325 11,566 1,279 12.4

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 56.7 58.1 62.3 63.6 6.9 12.2

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 9,287 9,342 9,993 10,356 1,069 11.5

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 51.2 51.5 55.0 57.0 5.8 11.3

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 1,000 1,203 1,333 1,209 210 21.0

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 631 793 959 839 208 33.0

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 368 410 374 370 2 .5

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 9.7 11.4 11.8 10.5 .7 7.6

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 7,858 7,611 6,842 6,614 -1,244 -15.8

White

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 28,517 28,532 28,549 28,566 49 .2

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 17,380 17,743 19,360 19,712 2,331 13.4

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 60.9 62.2 67.8 69.0 8.1 13.2

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 15,723 15,986 17,360 17,944 2,221 14.1

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 55.1 56.0 60.8 62.8 7.7 13.9

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 1,658 1,758 2,000 1,768 110 6.6

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 1,038 1,157 1,374 1,234 197 18.9

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 620 600 626 533 -87 -14.0

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 9.5 9.9 10.3 9.0 -.6 -6.0

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 11,137 10,789 9,189 8,854 -2,283 -20.5

Black or African American

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 5,296 5,303 5,310 5,317 21 .4

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 2,666 2,801 3,064 3,097 432 16.2

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 50.3 52.8 57.7 58.3 7.9 15.7

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 2,090 2,115 2,260 2,378 288 13.8

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 39.5 39.9 42.6 44.7 5.3 13.3

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 575 687 804 719 144 25.0

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 443 501 626 544 100 22.6

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 132 186 178 176 44 33.1

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 21.6 24.5 26.2 23.2 1.6 7.6

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 2,631 2,502 2,246 2,220 -411 -15.6

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 2005 — 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 ......................................................................... 1,467 1,472 1,503 1,497 30 2.1

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 640 652 702 794 154 24.1

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 43.7 44.3 46.7 53.1 9.4 21.6

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 601 591 628 699 98 16.3

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 41.0 40.2 41.8 46.7 5.7 14.0

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 39 61 74 95 56 143.6

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 25 46 46 58 33 132.7

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 14 15 28 38 23 162.5

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 6.1 9.4 10.5 12.0 5.9 96.3

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 826 819 801 702 -124 -15.0

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 6,314 6,321 6,328 6,335 21 .3

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 3,651 3,649 3,806 3,800 149 4.1

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 57.8 57.7 60.1 60.0 2.2 3.7

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 3,226 3,276 3,412 3,428 202 6.3

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 51.1 51.8 53.9 54.1 3.0 5.9

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 425 373 394 372 -53 -12.5

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 304 256 292 292 -12 -3.8

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 122 117 102 80 -42 -34.3

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 11.6 10.2 10.3 9.8 -1.9 -16.0

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 2,664 2,672 2,523 2,536 -128 -4.8

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 2005.
Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2002-05

(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)

Employment status, sex, race, and 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2002 2003 2004 2005

TOTAL

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 35,322 35,905 36,415 36,681

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 24,536 24,150 24,465 24,436

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 69.5 67.3 67.2 66.6

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 21,501 20,950 21,447 21,749

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 60.9 58.3 58.9 59.3

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 3,034 3,200 3,018 2,688

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 2,250 2,448 2,212 1,916

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 785 753 806 771

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 12.4 13.3 12.3 11.0

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 10,786 11,755 11,950 12,244

Men

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 17,758 18,042 18,356 18,501

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 12,837 12,635 12,925 12,871

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 72.3 70.0 70.4 69.6

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 11,231 10,838 11,373 11,393

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 63.2 60.1 62.0 61.6

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 1,606 1,796 1,552 1,478

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 1,172 1,416 1,176 1,077

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 434 381 377 401

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 12.5 14.2 12.0 11.5

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 4,921 5,407 5,431 5,630

Women

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 17,563 17,863 18,059 18,180

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 11,699 11,516 11,540 11,566

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 66.6 64.5 63.9 63.6

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 10,271 10,112 10,074 10,356

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 58.5 56.6 55.8 57.0

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 1,428 1,404 1,465 1,209

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 1,077 1,032 1,036 839

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 351 372 429 370

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

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 5,865 6,348 6,519 6,614

White 1

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 27,959 28,066 28,410 28,566

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 20,262 19,749 19,859 19,712

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 72.5 70.4 69.9 69.0

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 18,092 17,566 17,848 17,944

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 64.7 62.6 62.8 62.8

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 2,169 2,182 2,011 1,768

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 1,566 1,611 1,406 1,234

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 604 571 605 533

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 10.7 11.1 10.1 9.0

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 7,697 8,317 8,551 8,854

Black or African American 1

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 5,199 5,159 5,245 5,317

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 2,989 2,930 3,029 3,097

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 57.5 56.8 57.7 58.3

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 2,319 2,150 2,224 2,378

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 44.6 41.7 42.4 44.7

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 670 780 804 719

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 549 655 666 544

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 121 125 138 176

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 22.4 26.6 26.6 23.2

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 2,211 2,229 2,216 2,220

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 2002-05 — Continued

(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)

Employment status, sex, race, and 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 2002 2003 2004 2005

Asian 1

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 1,724 1,464 1,503 1,497

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 966 740 786 794

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 56.0 50.5 52.3 53.1

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 815 642 719 699

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 47.3 43.8 47.8 46.7

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 151 98 68 95

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 97 63 46 58

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 54 34 22 38

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 15.6 13.2 8.6 12.0

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 758 724 716 702

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Civilian noninstitutional population ......................................................................... 6,004 6,079 6,275 6,335

 Civilian labor force ................................................................................................ 3,900 3,772 3,926 3,800

 Participation rate ............................................................................................. 65.0 62.0 62.6 60.0

 Employed ............................................................................................................ 3,390 3,244 3,428 3,428

 Employment-population ratio .......................................................................... 56.5 53.4 54.6 54.1

 Unemployed ....................................................................................................... 510 528 498 372

 Looking for full-time work ................................................................................ 419 406 373 292

 Looking for part-time work .............................................................................. 91 121 125 80

 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................ 13.1 14.0 12.7 9.8

 Not in labor force .................................................................................................. 2,104 2,307 2,349 2,536

 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only;

persons who selected more than one race group are not included.

Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group

were included in the group they identified as the main race. Also,

beginning in 2003, Asians exclude Pacific Islanders.

 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, 2004,

and 2005 reflect revised population controls introduced in January

2003, January 2004, and January 2005.
Table 3. Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2004-05

(Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.)

Industry and class of worker

Total White Black or African

American Asian Hispanic or Latinoethnicity

2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005

Total employed ..................................................... 21,447 21,749 17,848 17,944 2,224 2,378 719 699 3,428 3,428

 Agriculture and related industries ....................... 338 341 318 320 6 11 – – 86 80

 Nonagricultural industries ................................... 21,110 21,407 17,530 17,624 2,218 2,367 718 699 3,343 3,347

 Private wage and salary workers ...................... 19,188 19,410 15,997 16,066 1,959 2,066 634 642 3,115 3,102

 Mining ............................................................. 41 57 41 43 – 11 – 2 7 19

 Construction ................................................... 1,543 1,551 1,378 1,406 75 91 14 7 463 453

 Manufacturing ................................................. 1,515 1,423 1,257 1,166 107 171 103 27 331 298

 Durable goods .............................................. 954 853 829 736 39 70 49 14 167 179

 Nondurable goods ........................................ 562 570 428 429 68 100 54 14 164 119

 Wholesale trade .............................................. 452 414 381 342 45 33 13 19 66 71

 Retail trade ..................................................... 4,140 4,384 3,386 3,590 482 498 153 138 526 564

 Transportation and utilities ............................. 503 510 383 412 94 68 13 5 92 70

 Information ...................................................... 353 422 288 333 42 61 4 15 45 49

 Financial activities .......................................... 1,052 1,142 896 954 112 96 25 59 163 210

 Professional and business services ............... 1,701 1,563 1,424 1,245 179 215 44 62 302 262

 Education and health services ........................ 2,110 2,072 1,688 1,646 268 295 81 91 306 229

 Leisure and hospitality .................................... 4,703 4,770 3,980 3,979 445 455 145 167 703 694

 Other services ................................................ 1,075 1,103 897 951 110 72 39 50 111 183

 Government ...................................................... 1,434 1,577 1,089 1,186 236 286 75 37 136 159

 Federal ........................................................... 189 230 138 166 40 49 3 5 11 19

 State ............................................................... 445 470 329 342 76 97 37 27 54 37

 Local ............................................................... 799 877 621 678 120 140 36 5 71 103

 Self-employed and unpaid family workers ........ 488 420 444 372 23 15 9 20 91 87

– 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 2004 and 2005 reflect revised population controls introduced

in January 2004 and January 2005.