Technical information:  (202)  691-6378     USDL 04-1590
                http://www.bls.gov/cps/

                                            For release:  10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                 691-5902     Wednesday, August 18, 2004


            EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 2004


   From April to July 2004, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old 
increased by 2.3 million to 21.4 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of 
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  July is the traditional summer-
time peak for youth employment.  This summer's increase in youth employment 
was slightly larger than last year's 2.1 million increase.  Unemployment 
among youth rose by 631,000 between April and July 2004, about the same 
amount as in the prior year.  (Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal 
changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur every spring and sum-
mer, 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 24.5 million in July.  (See table 1.)
   
   The July labor force participation rate for youth (the proportion of
their population working or looking for work) in 2004 (67.2 percent) was
essentially the same as in July 2003 (67.3 percent)--the lowest rates for
July since 1966.  The proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds enrolled in school
in July has grown over the last decade--from 16.3 percent in 1994 to 28.9
percent in 2004--and participation rates for students are typically lower
than for non-students.  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.
   
   The July 2004 labor force participation rate for young men (70.4 percent) 
was about the same as in July 2003.  In contrast, the participation rate for 
young women continued to move downward, to 63.9 percent in July 2004, the low-
est level since 1975.  This July's labor force participation rates for whites 
(69.9 percent), blacks (57.7 percent), Asians (52.3 percent), and Hispanics 
or Latinos (62.6 percent) were little changed over the year.  (See table 2.)
   
Employment
   
   There were 21.4 million 16- to 24-year-olds employed in July 2004.  The
employment-population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-year-
old civilian noninstitutional population that was employed--at 58.9 percent, 
was about unchanged from July 2003.  The ratio had fallen by 6.3 percentage 
points between July 1999 and July 2002.  In July 2004, the ratio for young 
men edged up by 1.9 percentage points to 62.0 percent.  The employment-popu-
lation ratios for young women (55.8 percent), young whites (62.8 percent), 
young blacks (42.4 percent), young Asians (47.8 percent), and young Hispanics 
or Latinos (54.6 percent) were little changed from a year earlier.
   
   In July 2004, 22 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and
hospitality industry and 19 percent worked in retail trade.  In addition,

                                  - 2 -

large percentages of employed youth worked in education and health services, 
professional and business services, construction, manufacturing, and govern-
ment.  (See table 3.)
   
Unemployment
   
   In July 2004, 3.0 million youth were unemployed.  The youth unemployment 
rate--12.3 percent--was down from 13.3 percent in July 2003.  The July 2004 
unemployment rate for young men (12.0 percent) was lower than a year earlier.  
The jobless rates for young women (12.7 percent), young whites (10.1 percent), 
young blacks (26.6 percent), young Asians (8.6 percent), and young Hispanics 
or Latinos (12.7 percent) showed little or no change from a year earlier.  
(See table 2.)
   
   
   
   
   
Technical Note


   The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population
Survey (CPS), a national sample survey of 60,000 households conducted month-
ly 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 tran-
sition from school to work.  July is the peak summer month of youth employment.   

   Beginning in January 2004, 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 2004" in
the February 2004 issue of Employment and Earnings and available at
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps04adj.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 de-
pending 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 infor-
mation, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
   
   For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and infor-
mation on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Esti-
mates 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 per-
sonal 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 ref-
erence 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 2004

     (Numbers in thousands.  Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                          April-July    
               Employment status, sex, race, and                                                          changes(1)    
                  Hispanic or Latino ethnicity                 April      May       June      July                      
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                        Number   Percent 
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        
                              TOTAL                                                                                     
                                                                                                                        
       Civilian noninstitutional population.................   36,370    36,383    36,399    36,415        45       0.1 
         Civilian labor force...............................   21,571    21,921    23,778    24,465     2,894      13.4 
               Participation rate...........................     59.3      60.2      65.3      67.2       7.9      13.3 
           Employed.........................................   19,184    19,237    20,587    21,447     2,263      11.8 
               Employment-population ratio .................     52.7      52.9      56.6      58.9       6.1      11.7 
           Unemployed.......................................    2,387     2,684     3,191     3,018       631      26.5 
             Looking for full-time work.....................    1,543     1,895     2,303     2,212       669      43.3 
             Looking for part-time work.....................      843       789       888       806       -37      -4.4 
             Unemployment rate..............................     11.1      12.2      13.4      12.3       1.3      11.5 
         Not in labor force.................................   14,800    14,463    12,622    11,950    -2,849     -19.3 
                                                                                                                        
                               Men                                                                                      
                                                                                                                        
       Civilian noninstitutional population.................   18,330    18,338    18,347    18,356        27        .1 
         Civilian labor force...............................   11,272    11,356    12,521    12,925     1,653      14.7 
               Participation rate...........................     61.5      61.9      68.2      70.4       8.9      14.5 
           Employed.........................................    9,885     9,893    10,807    11,373     1,488      15.1 
               Employment-population ratio .................     53.9      54.0      58.9      62.0       8.0      14.9 
           Unemployed.......................................    1,387     1,463     1,714     1,552       165      11.9 
             Looking for full-time work.....................      938     1,058     1,258     1,176       238      25.4 
             Looking for part-time work.....................      450       405       456       377       -73     -16.3 
             Unemployment rate..............................     12.3      12.9      13.7      12.0       -.3      -2.4 
         Not in labor force.................................    7,057     6,982     5,826     5,431    -1,626     -23.0 
                                                                                                                        
                              Women                                                                                     
                                                                                                                        
       Civilian noninstitutional population.................   18,041    18,046    18,052    18,059        18        .1 
         Civilian labor force...............................   10,298    10,565    11,257    11,540     1,241      12.1 
               Participation rate...........................     57.1      58.5      62.4      63.9       6.8      11.9 
           Employed.........................................    9,299     9,343     9,780    10,074       775       8.3 
               Employment-population ratio .................     51.5      51.8      54.2      55.8       4.2       8.2 
           Unemployed.......................................      999     1,221     1,477     1,465       466      46.7 
             Looking for full-time work.....................      606       837     1,045     1,036       430      71.0 
             Looking for part-time work.....................      393       384       432       429        36       9.1 
             Unemployment rate..............................      9.7      11.6      13.1      12.7       3.0      30.9 
         Not in labor force.................................    7,742     7,481     6,795     6,519    -1,223     -15.8 
                                                                                                                        
                             White                                                                                      
                                                                                                                        
       Civilian noninstitutional population.................   28,390    28,395    28,403    28,410        20       0.1 
         Civilian labor force...............................   17,676    17,882    19,421    19,859     2,184      12.4 
               Participation rate...........................     62.3      63.0      68.4      69.9       7.6      12.3 
           Employed.........................................   15,953    15,977    17,174    17,848     1,895      11.9 
               Employment-population ratio .................     56.2      56.3      60.5      62.8       6.6      11.8 
           Unemployed.......................................    1,723     1,905     2,246     2,011       288      16.7 
             Looking for full-time work.....................    1,056     1,296     1,567     1,406       349      33.1 
             Looking for part-time work.....................      667       609       679       605       -61      -9.2 
             Unemployment rate..............................      9.7      10.7      11.6      10.1        .4       3.9 
         Not in labor force.................................   10,714    10,513     8,982     8,551    -2,164     -20.2 
                                                                                                                        
                   Black or African American                                                                            
                                                                                                                        
       Civilian noninstitutional population.................    5,231     5,235     5,240     5,245        14        .3 
         Civilian labor force...............................    2,462     2,619     2,799     3,029       566      23.0 
               Participation rate...........................     47.1      50.0      53.4      57.7      10.7      22.7 
           Employed.........................................    1,991     2,017     2,085     2,224       233      11.7 
               Employment-population ratio .................     38.1      38.5      39.8      42.4       4.3      11.4 
           Unemployed.......................................      471       603       714       804       333      70.7 
             Looking for full-time work.....................      360       471       568       666       306      85.0 
             Looking for part-time work.....................      111       132       146       138        27      24.5 
             Unemployment rate..............................     19.1      23.0      25.5      26.6       7.4      38.8 
         Not in labor force.................................    2,768     2,616     2,440     2,216      -552     -20.0 
                                                                                                                        
                             Asian                                                                                      
                                                                                                                        
       Civilian noninstitutional population.................    1,477     1,472     1,506     1,503        26       1.7 
         Civilian labor force...............................      704       683       779       786        83      11.7 
               Participation rate...........................     47.6      46.4      51.7      52.3       4.7       9.8 
           Employed.........................................      641       628       668       719        78      12.2 
               Employment-population ratio .................     43.4      42.6      44.4      47.8       4.4      10.2 
           Unemployed.......................................       63        56       111        68         5       7.3 
             Looking for full-time work.....................       49        51        79        46        -3      -5.8 
             Looking for part-time work.....................       14         4        32        22         7      53.0 
             Unemployment rate..............................      9.0       8.1      14.2       8.6       -.4      -3.9 
         Not in labor force.................................      773       789       727       716       -57      -7.3 
                                                                                                                        
                  Hispanic or Latino ethnicity                                                                          
                                                                                                                        
       Civilian noninstitutional population.................    6,255     6,262     6,268     6,275        19        .3 
         Civilian labor force...............................    3,643     3,689     3,810     3,926       283       7.8 
               Participation rate...........................     58.2      58.9      60.8      62.6       4.3       7.4 
           Employed.........................................    3,235     3,263     3,377     3,428       194       6.0 
               Employment-population ratio .................     51.7      52.1      53.9      54.6       2.9       5.7 
           Unemployed.......................................      408       425       433       498        90      22.0 
             Looking for full-time work.....................      307       338       340       373        66      21.5 
             Looking for part-time work.....................      101        87        93       125        24      23.7 
             Unemployment rate..............................     11.2      11.5      11.4      12.7       1.5      13.2 
         Not in labor force.................................    2,613     2,573     2,458     2,349      -264     -10.1 

         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 2004.





     Table 2.  Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 to 24 years of age by sex, race, and
     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2001-04

     (Numbers in thousands.  Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
                  Employment status, sex, race, and                     2001           2002           2003           2004     
                     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity                                                                            
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
                                TOTAL                                                                                        
                                                                                                                             
       Civilian noninstitutional population......................      34,846         35,322         35,905         36,415   
         Civilian labor force....................................      24,627         24,536         24,150         24,465   
               Participation rate................................        70.7           69.5           67.3           67.2   
           Employed..............................................      22,042         21,501         20,950         21,447   
               Employment-population ratio ......................        63.3           60.9           58.3           58.9   
           Unemployed............................................       2,585          3,034          3,200          3,018   
             Looking for full-time work..........................       1,898          2,250          2,448          2,212   
             Looking for part-time work..........................         687            785            753            806   
             Unemployment rate...................................        10.5           12.4           13.3           12.3   
         Not in labor force......................................      10,219         10,786         11,755         11,950   
                                                                                                                             
                                 Men                                                                                         
                                                                                                                             
       Civilian noninstitutional population......................      17,468         17,758         18,042         18,356   
         Civilian labor force....................................      12,950         12,837         12,635         12,925   
               Participation rate................................        74.1           72.3           70.0           70.4   
           Employed..............................................      11,576         11,231         10,838         11,373   
               Employment-population ratio ......................        66.3           63.2           60.1           62.0   
           Unemployed............................................       1,374          1,606          1,796          1,552   
             Looking for full-time work..........................       1,051          1,172          1,416          1,176   
             Looking for part-time work..........................         322            434            381            377   
             Unemployment rate...................................        10.6           12.5           14.2           12.0   
         Not in labor force......................................       4,518          4,921          5,407          5,431   
                                                                                                                             
                                Women                                                                                        
                                                                                                                             
       Civilian noninstitutional population......................      17,378         17,563         17,863         18,059   
         Civilian labor force....................................      11,677         11,699         11,516         11,540   
               Participation rate................................        67.2           66.6           64.5           63.9   
           Employed..............................................      10,466         10,271         10,112         10,074   
               Employment-population ratio ......................        60.2           58.5           56.6           55.8   
           Unemployed............................................       1,211          1,428          1,404          1,465   
             Looking for full-time work..........................         846          1,077          1,032          1,036   
             Looking for part-time work..........................         364            351            372            429   
             Unemployment rate...................................        10.4           12.2           12.2           12.7   
         Not in labor force......................................       5,701          5,865          6,348          6,519   
                                                                                                                             
                              White (1)                                                                                      
                                                                                                                             
       Civilian noninstitutional population......................      27,570         27,959         28,066         28,410   
         Civilian labor force....................................      20,324         20,262         19,749         19,859   
               Participation rate................................        73.7           72.5           70.4           69.9   
           Employed..............................................      18,508         18,092         17,566         17,848   
               Employment-population ratio ......................        67.1           64.7           62.6           62.8   
           Unemployed............................................       1,816          2,169          2,182          2,011   
             Looking for full-time work..........................       1,323          1,566          1,611          1,406   
             Looking for part-time work..........................         494            604            571            605   
             Unemployment rate...................................         8.9           10.7           11.1           10.1   
         Not in labor force......................................       7,246          7,697          8,317          8,551   
                                                                                                                             
                    Black or African American (1)                                                                            
                                                                                                                             
       Civilian noninstitutional population......................       5,078          5,199          5,159          5,245   
         Civilian labor force....................................       3,074          2,989          2,930          3,029   
               Participation rate................................        60.5           57.5           56.8           57.7   
           Employed..............................................       2,464          2,319          2,150          2,224   
               Employment-population ratio ......................        48.5           44.6           41.7           42.4   
           Unemployed............................................         610            670            780            804   
             Looking for full-time work..........................         460            549            655            666   
             Looking for part-time work..........................         150            121            125            138   
             Unemployment rate...................................        19.8           22.4           26.6           26.6   
         Not in labor force......................................       2,004          2,211          2,229          2,216   
                                                                                                                             
                              Asian (1)                                                                                      
                                                                                                                             
       Civilian noninstitutional population......................       1,767          1,724          1,464          1,503   
         Civilian labor force....................................         949            966            740            786   
               Participation rate................................        53.7           56.0           50.5           52.3   
           Employed..............................................         842            815            642            719   
               Employment-population ratio ......................        47.7           47.3           43.8           47.8   
           Unemployed............................................         107            151             98             68   
             Looking for full-time work..........................          75             97             63             46   
             Looking for part-time work..........................          32             54             34             22   
             Unemployment rate...................................        11.2           15.6           13.2            8.6   
         Not in labor force......................................         818            758            724            716   
                                                                                                                             
                     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity                                                                            
                                                                                                                             
       Civilian noninstitutional population......................       5,957          6,004          6,079          6,275   
         Civilian labor force....................................       3,908          3,900          3,772          3,926   
               Participation rate................................        65.6           65.0           62.0           62.6   
           Employed..............................................       3,434          3,390          3,244          3,428   
               Employment-population ratio ......................        57.7           56.5           53.4           54.6   
           Unemployed............................................         474            510            528            498   
             Looking for full-time work..........................         381            419            406            373   
             Looking for part-time work..........................          93             91            121            125   
             Unemployment rate...................................        12.1           13.1           14.0           12.7   
         Not in labor force......................................       2,049          2,104          2,307          2,349   

         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 and 2004 reflect
     revised population controls introduced in January 2003 and January 2004.





     Table 3.  Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, July 2003-04

     (Numbers in thousands.  Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                             Black                                  Hispanic     
                                                     Total               White                 or                Asian                 or        
                                                                                            African                                  Latino      
           Industry and class of worker                                                     American                               ethnicity     
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                 2003      2004      2003      2004      2003      2004       2003      2004     2003      2004  
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
           Total employed....................   20,950    21,447    17,566    17,848     2,150     2,224       642       719     3,244     3,428 
                                                                                                                                                 
       Agriculture and related industries....      352       338       341       318         4         6         1      -           87        86 
       Nonagricultural industries............   20,599    21,110    17,225    17,530     2,146     2,218       640       718     3,157     3,343 
        Private wage and salary workers......   18,773    19,188    15,771    15,997     1,893     1,959       585       634     2,958     3,115 
         Mining..............................       45        41        43        41      -         -         -         -            3         7 
         Construction........................    1,442     1,543     1,343     1,378        55        75         8        14       370       463 
         Manufacturing.......................    1,318     1,515     1,119     1,257       132       107        26       103       288       331 
           Durable goods.....................      762       954       674       829        57        39        12        49       111       167 
           Nondurable goods..................      557       562       444       428        75        68        14        54       177       164 
         Wholesale trade.....................      476       452       402       381        46        45        15        13        74        66 
         Retail trade........................    3,944     4,140     3,210     3,386       448       482       171       153       494       526 
         Transportation and utilities........      465       503       354       383       100        94         3        13        56        92 
         Information ........................      438       353       352       288        51        42        15         4        63        45 
         Financial activities................    1,130     1,052       909       896       109       112        79        25       153       163 
         Professional and business                                                                                                               
        services.............................    1,653     1,701     1,389     1,424       178       179        44        44       310       302 
         Education and health services.......    2,127     2,110     1,722     1,688       268       268        67        81       275       306 
         Leisure and hospitality.............    4,727     4,703     4,053     3,980       418       445       132       145       745       703 
         Other services......................    1,009     1,075       874       897        89       110        26        39       128       111 
                                                                                                                                                 
       Government............................    1,439     1,434     1,134     1,089       218       236        39        75       148       136 
         Federal.............................      159       189        93       138        53        40        10         3        16        11 
         State...............................      412       445       306       329        65        76        20        37        46        54 
         Local...............................      867       799       735       621        99       120         9        36        86        71 
                                                                                                                                                 
       Self-employed and unpaid                                                                                                                  
        family workers.......................      386       488       321       444        35        23        16         9        51        91 

        - 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 2003 and 2004 reflect revised population controls introduced in January 2003 and
     January 2004.