TEXT
Table 1.  Employment status of the civilian population 16 to 24 years of age by sex and race, April-July 1994
Table 2.  Employment status of the civilian population 16 to 24 years of age by sex and race, July 1990-94
Table 3.  Employed civilians 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, and race, July 1993-94

Technical information:  (202) 606-6378         USDL 94-406
                              606-6373
 
Media contact:                606-5902         For release:  10:00 A.M. EDT
                                               Friday, August 19, 1994
 
 
 
                      YOUTH LABOR MARKET--SUMMER 1994
 
 
 
     The number of 16- to 24-year-olds with jobs increased by 2.9 million
from April to July of 1994, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today.  The number who were unemployed (those
looking for work) also rose--by 374,000--between the spring and summer, as
is usual during this time of the year.  (See table 1.)  (Because the focus
of this analysis is on seasonal movements in the number of young workers,
the data used for this release are not seasonally adjusted.)
 
Labor Force
 
     The 16- to 24-year-old labor force expands sharply each summer, as
large numbers of students enter the labor market to take or search for
summer jobs, and many high school and college graduates seek permanent
ones.  Combining the increases in employment and unemployment, the youth
labor force increased by 3.3 million this summer.  This seasonal buildup
included 1.9 million young men and 1.4 million young women.
 
     The total number of 16- to 24-year-olds in the labor force was about
24.1 million in July.  The group's labor force participation rate--the
proportion of the youth population working or looking for work--was 74.1
percent.  The proportions varied considerably by sex and race: July
participation rates were 78.8 percent for young men, versus 69.4 percent
for young women; and 77.2 percent for white youth, versus 63.7 percent for
black youth in July.  (See table 1.)
 
Employment
 
     The number of employed youth increased by 2.9 million between April
and July to 21.1 million.  About 6 in 7 worked in the private sector this
summer, with the retail trade (7.3 million) and services (5.3 million) the
largest employers.  There were also sizable numbers of youth employed in
the manufacturing and the construction industries.  Government--Federal,
state, and local--employed a total of 1.7 million young people in July,
partly through the Federally-funded summer jobs program.  About half of the
young people with government jobs were employed in local governments.
About 7 percent of white youth and 14 percent of black youth worked for
governments.  (See table 3.)
 
Unemployment
 
     About 3.1 million 16- to 24-year-olds were unemployed this July.  The
unemployment rate was 12.7 percent.  Jobless rates were 13.1 percent for
young men, 12.3 percent for young women, 10.6 percent for white youth, and
24.9 percent for black youth.
 
 
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| NOTE:  Data for 1994 are not directly comparable with 1993 and earlier     |
| years' data because of the introduction of a major redesign of the Current |
| Population Survey and the introduction of the 1990 census-based population |
| controls, adjusted for the estimated undercount.  This will, in particular,|
| affect any calculation of year-to-year changes.  It also could be relevant |
| with respect to comparative changes within a year, which is why no         |
| comparative statements were attempted involving April-July changes in 1994 |
| versus earlier years.  For additional information, see "Revisions in the   |
| Current Population Survey Effective January 1994" in the February 1994     |
| issue of Employment and Earnings.                                          |
|                                                                            |
|     This release provides data on the influx of youth into the labor market|
| between the spring and summer (table 1).  The April-July period is used as |
| the most representative time frame to measure the full summertime          |
| transition from school to work.  July is preferable for analytical         |
| purposes, since it is traditionally the peak month of youth employment.    |
|                                                                            |
|     Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired |
| individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone:  202-606-  |
| 5897;  TDD message referral: 1-800-326-2577.                               |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 1.  Employment status of the civilian population 16 to 24 years of age by sex and race, April-July 1994
 
  (Numbers in thousands.  Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
 
  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |            |            |            |            |
                                                    |            |            |            |            |   April-July changes
           Employment status, sex, and race         |   April    |    May     |    June    |    July    |
                                                                                                         _________________________
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                                                    |            |            |            |            |   Number   |  Percent
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                        TOTAL
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
   Civilian noninstitutional population.............|   32,495   |   32,561   |   32,570   |   32,579   |       84   |     0.3
     Civilian labor force...........................|   20,812   |   21,345   |   23,559   |   24,132   |    3,320   |    16.0
           Participation rate.......................|     64.0   |     65.6   |     72.3   |     74.1   |     10.1   |    15.8
       Employed.....................................|   18,122   |   18,566   |   20,342   |   21,068   |    2,946   |    16.3
           Employment-population ratio 1/...........|     55.8   |     57.0   |     62.5   |     64.7   |      8.9   |    15.9
       Unemployed...................................|    2,690   |    2,779   |    3,216   |    3,064   |      374   |    13.9
         Looking for full-time work.................|    1,806   |    1,949   |    2,417   |    2,339   |      533   |    29.5
         Looking for part-time work.................|      884   |      830   |      800   |      725   |     -159   |   -18.0
         Unemployment rate..........................|     12.9   |     13.0   |     13.7   |     12.7   |      -.2   |    -1.6
     Not in labor force.............................|   11,684   |   11,216   |    9,012   |    8,447   |   -3,237   |   -27.7
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                         Men
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
   Civilian noninstitutional population.............|   16,238   |   16,275   |   16,272   |   16,292   |       54   |      .3
     Civilian labor force...........................|   10,913   |   11,263   |   12,387   |   12,836   |    1,923   |    17.6
           Participation rate.......................|     67.2   |     69.2   |     76.1   |     78.8   |     11.6   |    17.3
       Employed.....................................|    9,395   |    9,705   |   10,690   |   11,159   |    1,764   |    18.8
           Employment-population ratio 1/...........|     57.9   |     59.6   |     65.7   |     68.5   |     10.6   |    18.3
       Unemployed...................................|    1,518   |    1,558   |    1,697   |    1,676   |      158   |    10.4
         Looking for full-time work.................|    1,081   |    1,128   |    1,308   |    1,320   |      239   |    22.1
         Looking for part-time work.................|      438   |      429   |      390   |      356   |      -82   |   -18.7
         Unemployment rate..........................|     13.9   |     13.8   |     13.7   |     13.1   |      -.8   |    -5.8
     Not in labor force.............................|    5,324   |    5,012   |    3,885   |    3,456   |   -1,868   |   -35.1
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                        Women
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
   Civilian noninstitutional population.............|   16,258   |   16,286   |   16,298   |   16,287   |       29   |      .2
     Civilian labor force...........................|    9,898   |   10,082   |   11,172   |   11,297   |    1,399   |    14.1
           Participation rate.......................|     60.9   |     61.9   |     68.5   |     69.4   |      8.5   |    14.0
       Employed.....................................|    8,727   |    8,861   |    9,653   |    9,909   |    1,182   |    13.5
           Employment-population ratio 1/...........|     53.7   |     54.4   |     59.2   |     60.8   |      7.1   |    13.2
       Unemployed...................................|    1,172   |    1,222   |    1,519   |    1,388   |      216   |    18.4
         Looking for full-time work.................|      725   |      821   |    1,109   |    1,019   |      294   |    40.6
         Looking for part-time work.................|      447   |      401   |      410   |      368   |      -79   |   -17.7
         Unemployment rate..........................|     11.8   |     12.1   |     13.6   |     12.3   |       .5   |     4.2
     Not in labor force.............................|    6,359   |    6,203   |    5,127   |    4,990   |   -1,369   |   -21.5
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                        White
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
   Civilian noninstitutional population.............|   26,007   |   25,987   |   25,980   |   25,963   |      -44   |     -.2
     Civilian labor force...........................|   17,524   |   17,899   |   19,646   |   20,048   |    2,524   |    14.4
           Participation rate.......................|     67.4   |     68.9   |     75.6   |     77.2   |      9.8   |    14.5
       Employed.....................................|   15,542   |   15,937   |   17,445   |   17,928   |    2,386   |    15.4
           Employment-population ratio 1/...........|     59.8   |     61.3   |     67.1   |     69.1   |      9.3   |    15.6
       Unemployed...................................|    1,982   |    1,962   |    2,201   |    2,120   |      138   |     7.0
         Looking for full-time work.................|    1,304   |    1,329   |    1,628   |    1,596   |      292   |    22.4
         Looking for part-time work.................|      679   |      633   |      573   |      524   |     -155   |   -22.8
         Unemployment rate..........................|     11.3   |     11.0   |     11.2   |     10.6   |      -.7   |    -6.2
     Not in labor force.............................|    8,483   |    8,088   |    6,334   |    5,915   |   -2,568   |   -30.3
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                        Black
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
   Civilian noninstitutional population.............|    4,800   |    4,802   |    4,808   |    4,826   |       26   |      .5
     Civilian labor force...........................|    2,499   |    2,575   |    2,922   |    3,073   |      574   |    23.0
           Participation rate.......................|     52.1   |     53.6   |     60.8   |     63.7   |     11.6   |    22.3
       Employed.....................................|    1,900   |    1,869   |    2,082   |    2,309   |      409   |    21.5
           Employment-population ratio 1/...........|     39.6   |     38.9   |     43.3   |     47.8   |      8.2   |    20.7
       Unemployed...................................|      599   |      706   |      839   |      764   |      165   |    27.5
         Looking for full-time work.................|      426   |      538   |      657   |      634   |      208   |    48.8
         Looking for part-time work.................|      174   |      168   |      182   |      130   |      -44   |   -25.3
         Unemployment rate..........................|     24.0   |     27.4   |     28.7   |     24.9   |       .9   |     3.8
     Not in labor force.............................|    2,301   |    2,227   |    1,886   |    1,753   |     -548   |   -23.8
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
    1/ Civilian employment as a percent of the civilian             information, see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey
  noninstitutional population.                                      Effective January 1994" in the February 1994 issue of
    NOTE:  Data for 1994 are not directly comparable with           Employment and Earnings.
  data for 1993 and earlier years.  For additional
 
 
 
Table 2.  Employment status of the civilian population 16 to 24 years of age by sex and race, July 1990-94
 
 (Numbers in thousands.  Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
 
 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
          Employment status, sex, and race         |     1990      |     1991      |     1992      |     1993      |     1994
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
                       TOTAL
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
  Civilian noninstitutional population.............|     31,577    |     31,172    |     30,880    |     30,814    |     32,579
    Civilian labor force...........................|     23,748    |     22,975    |     23,076    |     22,987    |     24,132
          Participation rate.......................|       75.2    |       73.7    |       74.7    |       74.6    |       74.1
      Employed.....................................|     21,176    |     19,822    |     19,745    |     19,947    |     21,068
          Employment-population ratio 1/...........|       67.1    |       63.6    |       63.9    |       64.7    |       64.7
      Unemployed...................................|      2,572    |      3,152    |      3,331    |      3,039    |      3,064
        Looking for full-time work.................|      1,811    |      2,302    |      2,360    |      2,252    |      2,339
        Looking for part-time work.................|        761    |        850    |        971    |        788    |        725
        Unemployment rate..........................|       10.8    |       13.7    |       14.4    |       13.2    |       12.7
    Not in labor force.............................|      7,828    |      8,198    |      7,803    |      7,828    |      8,447
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
                        Men
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
  Civilian noninstitutional population.............|     15,603    |     15,443    |     15,302    |     15,298    |     16,292
    Civilian labor force...........................|     12,602    |     12,294    |     12,205    |     12,148    |     12,836
          Participation rate.......................|       80.8    |       79.6    |       79.8    |       79.4    |       78.8
      Employed.....................................|     11,260    |     10,580    |     10,433    |     10,491    |     11,159
          Employment-population ratio 1/...........|       72.2    |       68.5    |       68.2    |       68.6    |       68.5
      Unemployed...................................|      1,342    |      1,714    |      1,772    |      1,657    |      1,676
        Looking for full-time work.................|        988    |      1,316    |      1,291    |      1,263    |      1,320
        Looking for part-time work.................|        355    |        399    |        480    |        394    |        356
        Unemployment rate..........................|       10.7    |       13.9    |       14.5    |       13.6    |       13.1
    Not in labor force.............................|      3,001    |      3,149    |      3,097    |      3,150    |      3,456
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
                       Women
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
  Civilian noninstitutional population.............|     15,974    |     15,729    |     15,577    |     15,516    |     16,287
    Civilian labor force...........................|     11,146    |     10,680    |     10,871    |     10,839    |     11,297
          Participation rate.......................|       69.8    |       67.9    |       69.8    |       69.9    |       69.4
      Employed.....................................|      9,916    |      9,243    |      9,312    |      9,456    |      9,909
          Employment-population ratio 1/...........|       62.1    |       58.8    |       59.8    |       60.9    |       60.8
      Unemployed...................................|      1,230    |      1,438    |      1,559    |      1,383    |      1,388
        Looking for full-time work.................|        824    |        986    |      1,068    |        989    |      1,019
        Looking for part-time work.................|        406    |        451    |        491    |        394    |        368
        Unemployment rate..........................|       11.0    |       13.5    |       14.3    |       12.8    |       12.3
    Not in labor force.............................|      4,828    |      5,049    |      4,706    |      4,677    |      4,990
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
                       White
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
  Civilian noninstitutional population.............|     25,737    |     25,339    |     24,991    |     24,866    |     25,963
    Civilian labor force...........................|     20,152    |     19,482    |     19,400    |     19,249    |     20,048
          Participation rate.......................|       78.3    |       76.9    |       77.6    |       77.4    |       77.2
      Employed.....................................|     18,370    |     17,131    |     17,081    |     17,144    |     17,928
          Employment-population ratio 1/...........|       71.4    |       67.6    |       68.3    |       68.9    |       69.1
      Unemployed...................................|      1,782    |      2,350    |      2,319    |      2,105    |      2,120
        Looking for full-time work.................|      1,238    |      1,705    |      1,612    |      1,560    |      1,596
        Looking for part-time work.................|        544    |        646    |        707    |        545    |        524
        Unemployment rate..........................|        8.8    |       12.1    |       12.0    |       10.9    |       10.6
    Not in labor force.............................|      5,585    |      5,857    |      5,591    |      5,616    |      5,915
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
                       Black
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
  Civilian noninstitutional population.............|      4,584    |      4,568    |      4,568    |      4,585    |      4,826
    Civilian labor force...........................|      2,840    |      2,743    |      2,888    |      2,907    |      3,073
          Participation rate.......................|       62.0    |       60.0    |       63.2    |       63.4    |       63.7
      Employed.....................................|      2,149    |      2,034    |      2,010    |      2,120    |      2,309
          Employment-population ratio 1/...........|       46.9    |       44.5    |       44.0    |       46.2    |       47.8
      Unemployed...................................|        691    |        708    |        878    |        787    |        764
        Looking for full-time work.................|        513    |        538    |        670    |        611    |        634
        Looking for part-time work.................|        178    |        171    |        208    |        176    |        130
        Unemployment rate..........................|       24.3    |       25.8    |       30.4    |       27.1    |       24.9
    Not in labor force.............................|      1,744    |      1,825    |      1,679    |      1,678    |      1,753
                                                   |               |               |               |               |
 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
    1/ Civilian employment as a percent of the civilian             information, see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey
  noninstitutional population.                                      Effective January 1994" in the February 1994 issue of
    NOTE:  Data for 1994 are not directly comparable with           Employment and Earnings.
  data for 1993 and earlier years.  For additional
 
 
 
Table 3.  Employed civilians 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, and race, July 1993-94
 
  (In thousands.  Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
 
  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |                         |                         |
                                                    |          Total          |          White          |          Black
            Industry and class of worker            |                         |                         |
                                                     _________________________ _________________________ _________________________
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
                                                    |    1993    |    1994    |    1993    |    1994    |    1993    |    1994
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
        Total employed..............................|   19,947   |   21,068   |   17,144   |   17,928   |    2,120   |    2,309
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
    Agriculture.....................................|      695   |      732   |      654   |      685   |       24   |       42
    Nonagricultural industries......................|   19,253   |   20,336   |   16,490   |   17,244   |    2,096   |    2,267
      Private wage and salary workers...............|   17,247   |   18,147   |   14,893   |   15,528   |    1,788   |    1,890
        Mining......................................|       52   |       55   |       45   |       44   |        5   |        8
        Construction................................|      914   |    1,035   |      834   |      940   |       48   |       58
        Manufacturing...............................|    2,104   |    2,240   |    1,877   |    1,926   |      182   |      208
        Transportation and public utilities.........|      569   |      664   |      462   |      575   |       72   |       64
        Wholesale trade.............................|      552   |      626   |      506   |      548   |       32   |       53
        Retail trade................................|    6,968   |    7,278   |    5,927   |    6,222   |      780   |      783
        Finance, insurance, and real estate.........|      931   |      938   |      804   |      799   |      104   |      100
        Services....................................|    5,157   |    5,311   |    4,474   |    4,474   |      565   |      616
      Government....................................|    1,637   |    1,673   |    1,271   |    1,262   |      289   |      328
        Federal.....................................|      229   |      255   |      147   |      164   |       70   |       63
        State.......................................|      483   |      547   |      393   |      425   |       68   |       96
        Local.......................................|      925   |      872   |      731   |      673   |      151   |      168
      Self-employed and unpaid family workers.......|      370   |      516   |      327   |      454   |       20   |       49
                                                    |            |            |            |            |            |
  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
    NOTE:   Data for 1994 are not directly comparable with                  see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey
  data for 1993 and earlier years.  For additional information,             Effective January 1994" in the February 1994 issue of
                                                                            Employment and Earnings.