October 2, 1998 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Fewer youths hired this summer

In 1998, the number of employed youth increased by 2.5 million from April to July, the traditional summertime peak for youth employment. This year's seasonal expansion in employment of 16- to 24-year-olds was slightly smaller than the 2.8 million increase in 1997.

[Chart data—TXT]

The number of unemployed young people, which also grows at this time every year, rose 702,000, larger than the 448,000 increase reported a year earlier.

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.

These labor force statistics are a product of the Current Population Survey. For additional information, see news release USDL 98-386, "Employment and Unemployment Among Youth--Summer 1998".