Internet address: http://stat.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 98-386 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 606-5902 Tuesday, September 22, 1998 EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 1998 The number of employed youth increased by 2.5 million from April to July, the traditional summertime peak for youth employment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This year's seasonal expansion in employment of 16- to 24-year-olds was lower than in the preceding summer. The number of unemployed youth also rose as it typically does at this time of the year, growing by 702,000 between the spring and summer. (Because the focus of this analysis is the seasonal changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur every spring and summer, the data are not adjusted for seasonal variations.) Labor Force The 16- to 24-year-old labor force--those working or actively looking for work--grows sharply between April and July of each year, as large numbers of high school and college students search for summer jobs and many recent graduates look for permanent employment. This summer, the youth labor force rose by 3.2 million, to a total of 24.2 million in July. This was in line with the increase that occurred over the same period during the preceding four summers. (See table 1.) The proportion of the youth population working or looking for work--the group's labor force participation rate--was 72.8 percent in July, about the same as last year. The participation rate for black youth (64.4 percent) was higher than a year earlier, while the rates for young men (76.3 percent), women (69.3 percent), and whites (75.3 percent) were little different from those in 1997. (See table 2.) Employment A total of 21.6 million youth were employed this July, 64.9 percent of their population. This ratio has remained within a fairly narrow range during the 1990s. The employment-to-population ratio for young women (62.0 percent in July), has grown since the mid-1990s, while the rate for young men (67.8 percent) has declined during the same period. The employment-to- population ratios for white and black youth have shown little or no movement since the mid-1990s. (See table 2.) About 7 in 8 employed youth were wage and salary workers in the private sector this summer, with retail trade (7.4 million) and services (5.8 million) the largest employers. There also were sizable numbers of youth employed in manufacturing and construction. Government employed a total of 1.5 million young people in July. Nearly 3 in 5 of the young people with government jobs were employed in local governments. About 11 percent of black and 6 percent of white youth worked in government. (See table 3.) - 2 - Unemployment About 2.6 million 16- to 24-year-olds were unemployed this July--that is, they were not working, were actively looking for work, and were available to take a job. The youth unemployment rate was 10.8 percent. Jobless rates were 11.2 percent for young men, 10.4 percent for young women, 8.4 percent for white youth, and 24.8 percent for black youth. The summer jobless rates for these demographic groups have declined since the mid-1990s. (See table 2.) Technical Note The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national sample survey of 50,000 households conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the Bureau of the Census. The data in this release relate to the employment status of youth (16- to 24-year-old) 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 traditionally the peak summer month of youth employment. Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 1998" in the February 1998 issue of Employment and Earnings. 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 phone: 1-800-326-2577. 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 the February 1994 and subsequent issues 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 population 16 to 24 years of age by sex and race, April-July 1998 (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................... 33,108 33,149 33,232 33,266 158 0.5 Civilian labor force................................. 20,984 21,626 23,671 24,225 3,241 15.4 Participation rate............................. 63.4 65.2 71.2 72.8 9.4 14.9 Employed........................................... 19,059 19,372 20,866 21,599 2,539 13.3 Employment-population ratio (1)................ 57.6 58.4 62.8 64.9 7.4 12.8 Unemployed......................................... 1,925 2,254 2,805 2,626 702 36.5 Looking for full-time work....................... 1,227 1,582 2,046 1,910 683 55.7 Looking for part-time work....................... 698 672 759 716 18 2.6 Unemployment rate................................ 9.2 10.4 11.8 10.8 1.7 18.2 Not in labor force................................... 12,124 11,522 9,561 9,041 -3,083 -25.4 Men Civilian noninstitutional population................... 16,660 16,712 16,772 16,779 119 .7 Civilian labor force................................. 10,949 11,311 12,495 12,807 1,858 17.0 Participation rate............................. 65.7 67.7 74.5 76.3 10.6 16.1 Employed........................................... 9,904 10,069 11,028 11,370 1,467 14.8 Employment-population ratio (1)................ 59.4 60.3 65.8 67.8 8.3 14.0 Unemployed......................................... 1,045 1,242 1,467 1,436 391 37.4 Looking for full-time work....................... 686 927 1,078 1,083 397 58.0 Looking for part-time work....................... 359 314 388 353 -6 -1.7 Unemployment rate................................ 9.5 11.0 11.7 11.2 1.7 17.5 Not in labor force................................... 5,712 5,401 4,277 3,973 -1,739 -30.4 Women Civilian noninstitutional population................... 16,448 16,437 16,460 16,487 39 .2 Civilian labor force................................. 10,035 10,315 11,176 11,418 1,383 13.8 Participation rate............................. 61.0 62.8 67.9 69.3 8.2 13.5 Employed........................................... 9,156 9,303 9,838 10,228 1,073 11.7 Employment-population ratio (1)................ 55.7 56.6 59.8 62.0 6.4 11.5 Unemployed......................................... 880 1,012 1,338 1,190 310 35.3 Looking for full-time work....................... 542 655 968 827 286 52.8 Looking for part-time work....................... 338 357 371 363 24 7.2 Unemployment rate................................ 8.8 9.8 12.0 10.4 1.7 18.9 Not in labor force................................... 6,412 6,122 5,284 5,068 -1,344 -21.0 White Civilian noninstitutional population................... 26,471 26,514 26,562 26,606 134 .5 Civilian labor force................................. 17,505 18,122 19,636 20,028 2,523 14.4 Participation rate............................. 66.1 68.4 73.9 75.3 9.1 13.8 Employed........................................... 16,133 16,520 17,628 18,343 2,210 13.7 Employment-population ratio (1)................ 60.9 62.3 66.4 68.9 8.0 13.1 Unemployed......................................... 1,372 1,602 2,008 1,685 313 22.8 Looking for full-time work....................... 849 1,096 1,419 1,178 329 38.8 Looking for part-time work....................... 523 506 589 507 -16 -3.1 Unemployment rate................................ 7.8 8.8 10.2 8.4 .6 7.3 Not in labor force................................... 8,966 8,391 6,926 6,578 -2,388 -26.6 Black Civilian noninstitutional population................... 4,969 4,976 4,985 4,993 24 .5 Civilian labor force................................. 2,652 2,664 3,099 3,216 564 21.3 Participation rate............................. 53.4 53.5 62.2 64.4 11.0 20.7 Employed........................................... 2,165 2,090 2,422 2,419 254 11.7 Employment-population ratio (1)................ 43.6 42.0 48.6 48.4 4.9 11.2 Unemployed......................................... 487 574 676 797 310 63.7 Looking for full-time work....................... 332 430 547 636 304 91.7 Looking for part-time work....................... 155 145 130 161 6 3.7 Unemployment rate................................ 18.4 21.6 21.8 24.8 6.4 34.9 Not in labor force................................... 2,317 2,312 1,886 1,777 -540 -23.3 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population. NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey. Table 2. Employment status of the civilian population 16 to 24 years of age by sex and race, July 1995-98 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | Employment status, sex, and race | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | TOTAL Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 32,436 32,310 32,803 33,266 Civilian labor force........................................... 24,102 23,677 23,931 24,225 Participation rate....................................... 74.3 73.3 73.0 72.8 Employed..................................................... 21,041 20,702 21,197 21,599 Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 64.9 64.1 64.6 64.9 Unemployed................................................... 3,062 2,975 2,734 2,626 Looking for full-time work................................. 2,273 2,136 2,005 1,910 Looking for part-time work................................. 789 839 729 716 Unemployment rate.......................................... 12.7 12.6 11.4 10.8 Not in labor force............................................. 8,334 8,633 8,872 9,041 Men Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 16,246 16,179 16,548 16,779 Civilian labor force........................................... 12,884 12,667 12,653 12,807 Participation rate....................................... 79.3 78.3 76.5 76.3 Employed..................................................... 11,311 11,023 11,207 11,370 Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 69.6 68.1 67.7 67.8 Unemployed................................................... 1,573 1,644 1,446 1,436 Looking for full-time work................................. 1,219 1,182 1,094 1,083 Looking for part-time work................................. 354 462 352 353 Unemployment rate.......................................... 12.2 13.0 11.4 11.2 Not in labor force............................................. 3,363 3,512 3,894 3,973 Women Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 16,190 16,131 16,256 16,487 Civilian labor force........................................... 11,219 11,010 11,278 11,418 Participation rate....................................... 69.3 68.3 69.4 69.3 Employed..................................................... 9,730 9,678 9,990 10,228 Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 60.1 60.0 61.5 62.0 Unemployed................................................... 1,489 1,331 1,289 1,190 Looking for full-time work................................. 1,054 954 912 827 Looking for part-time work................................. 435 377 377 363 Unemployment rate.......................................... 13.3 12.1 11.4 10.4 Not in labor force............................................. 4,971 5,121 4,977 5,068 White Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 25,777 25,729 26,159 26,606 Civilian labor force........................................... 19,890 19,644 19,901 20,028 Participation rate....................................... 77.2 76.4 76.1 75.3 Employed..................................................... 17,876 17,584 17,992 18,343 Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 69.3 68.3 68.8 68.9 Unemployed................................................... 2,014 2,060 1,909 1,685 Looking for full-time work................................. 1,454 1,428 1,412 1,178 Looking for part-time work................................. 559 632 497 507 Unemployment rate.......................................... 10.1 10.5 9.6 8.4 Not in labor force............................................. 5,887 6,085 6,258 6,578 Black Civilian noninstitutional population............................. 4,834 4,883 4,958 4,993 Civilian labor force........................................... 3,083 3,026 3,030 3,216 Participation rate....................................... 63.8 62.0 61.1 64.4 Employed..................................................... 2,230 2,258 2,347 2,419 Employment-population ratio (1).......................... 46.1 46.2 47.3 48.4 Unemployed................................................... 852 768 684 797 Looking for full-time work................................. 667 617 500 636 Looking for part-time work................................. 186 151 183 161 Unemployment rate.......................................... 27.7 25.4 22.6 24.8 Not in labor force............................................. 1,751 1,858 1,927 1,777 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population. NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey. Table 3. Employed persons 16 to 24 years of age by industry, class of worker, and race, July 1997-98 (Numbers in thousands. Data are not seasonally adjusted.) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | Total | White | Black ___________________________________________________________ Industry and class of worker | | | | | | | | | | 1997 | 1998 | 1997 | 1998 | 1997 | 1998 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | Total employed................................... 21,197 21,599 17,992 18,343 2,347 2,419 Agriculture ......................................... 763 803 726 756 17 30 Nonagricultural industries........................... 20,434 20,796 17,266 17,586 2,330 2,389 Private wage and salary workers.................... 18,627 18,927 15,838 16,074 2,049 2,109 Mining........................................... 60 57 58 53 - 4 Construction..................................... 1,153 1,161 1,080 1,088 42 49 Manufacturing.................................... 2,258 2,188 1,925 1,812 222 278 Transportation and public utilities.............. 734 821 602 711 103 90 Wholesale trade.................................. 546 657 482 594 41 45 Retail trade..................................... 7,458 7,377 6,353 6,279 832 840 Finance, insurance, and real estate.............. 924 890 771 733 119 102 Services......................................... 5,493 5,778 4,568 4,803 691 700 Government......................................... 1,445 1,484 1,118 1,163 248 254 Federal.......................................... 176 178 116 138 39 32 State............................................ 462 464 370 338 77 103 Local............................................ 806 842 631 687 132 119 Self-employed and unpaid family workers............ 362 384 310 349 33 26 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey. Dash represents zero.