Economic News Release

Technical information:  (202) 691-6378      USDL 08-1212
               http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                            For release:  10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902      Thursday, August 28, 2008
                                   
                                   
          EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH--SUMMER 2008


   From April to July 2008, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years 
old increased by 1.9 million to 21.0 million, the Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  July is the tradi-
tional summertime peak for youth employment.  This summer's increase in 
youth employment was lower than last year's 2.3 million increase.  Unem-
ployment among youth increased by 1.2 million between April and July 2008; 
this was more than twice the increase in youth unemployment during the 
same period in 2007.  (Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal 
changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur every spring and 
summer, the data are not seasonally adjusted.)

Labor Force

   The youth labor force--16- to 24-year-olds working or actively
looking for work--grows sharply between April and July each year.
During these months, large numbers of high school and college students
take or search for summer jobs, and many graduates enter the labor
market to look for or begin permanent employment.  This summer, the
youth labor force grew by 3.1 million to a total of 24.4 million in
July.  (See table 1.)

   The labor force participation rate for youth--the proportion of
their population working or looking for work--was 65.1 percent in July
2008, essentially the same as in July 2007 and about 12 percentage points
below its peak for that month in 1989 (77.5 percent).  Over the 
1989-2008 period, the proportion of youth enrolled in school in July
trended up; youth enrolled in school are much less likely than those
not in school to be in the labor force.
      
   The July 2008 labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-old
men (68.1 percent) was about the same as a year earlier, and the rate
for women (62.1 percent) was unchanged over the year.  For several
decades prior to 1989, young men's July labor force participation rate
showed no clear trend, ranging from 81 to 86 percent.  Since July
1989, however, their participation rate has trended down by about 15
percentage points.  Young women's July labor force participation rate
peaked in 1989 after a long-term upward trend; their rate has trended
down by about 10 percentage points since then.
      
   The July 2008 participation rates for whites (68.1 percent), blacks
(54.7 percent), and Hispanics (60.1 percent) were little changed from
a year earlier.  For all three groups, labor force participation rates
were more than 10 percentage points lower than their peak levels
reached in July 1989.  The participation rate for Asian youth in July
2008 (50.6 percent) also was little different from July 2007.  (See
table 2.)

                                  - 2 -

Employment

   In July 2008, 21.0 million 16- to 24-year-olds were employed.  The
employment-population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-
year-old civilian noninstitutional population that was employed--was
56.0 percent, down 2.0 percentage points from July 2007.  The ratio
has fallen by about 13 percentage points since its peak in July 1989;
the steep decline from July 2007 to July 2008 may reflect, in part,
weaker labor market conditions during the summer of 2008.  (See 
table 2.)
      
   The July employment-population ratio for young men was 57.9 percent
in July 2008, down from 60.3 percent in July 2007.  The employment-
population ratios for women (54.2 percent) and whites (59.7 percent)
in July 2008 also were lower than a year earlier.  The ratios for
blacks (41.2 percent), Asians (46.4 percent), and Hispanics (50.5 per-
cent) were about unchanged.
      
   In July 2008, 23 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure
and hospitality industry (which includes food services) and 18 percent
worked in retail trade.  In addition, nearly two-fifths of employed
youth worked in education and health services, professional and busi-
ness services, government, manufacturing, and construction combined.  
(See table 3.)

Unemployment

   In July 2008, 3.4 million youth were unemployed and the youth
unemployment rate was 14.0 percent, the highest rate for July since
1992.  As with the decline in employment, the increase in youth
unemployment in the summer of 2008 partly reflected a weaker job
market.  The July 2008 unemployment rates for young men (15.0 per-
cent), women (12.8 percent), whites (12.3 percent), blacks (24.8
percent), and Hispanics (16.0 percent) increased from a year earlier.
The jobless rate for Asians (8.4 percent) was about unchanged from
July 2007.  (See table 2.)