August 19, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Youth labor force participation in Summer 2004

The labor force participation rate for youth—the proportion of the population age 16 to 24 working or looking for work—was 67.2 percent in July 2004, about the same as in July 2003. These were the lowest rates for July since 1966.

[Chart data—TXT]

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 labor force 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.

These data are a product of the Current Population Survey. The data are not seasonally adjusted. Find out more in "Employment and Unemployment Among Youth—Summer 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-1590.