Subtopics Age Requirements Agricultural Employment Child Labor Statistics DOL Kids' Pages Door-to-door Sales Employment by Parents Employment & Training Resources Enforcement Entertainment Industry Employment Exemptions to the FLSA Hazardous Jobs International Child Labor Newspaper Delivery Nonagricultural Employment Posting Requirements Recordkeeping Resources for Educators Resources for Parents of Young Workers Resources for Young Workers Safety & Health State Labor Laws Wages Work Hours Work Permits/Age Certificates

Youth & Labor

Child Labor Statistics

Laws and regulations limiting the extent of work that children can perform have been in place for many years. However, within the limits of these laws, many youths are employed in seasonal or year-round jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) regularly conducts research and provides reports on trends in youth labor.

DOL Web Pages on This Topic

Report on the Youth Labor Force
This 76-page report completed in 2000 examines the youth labor force in great depth. The report is divided into the following sections to make it more usable:

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
This section examines current federal child labor laws, compares state child labor laws, and discusses government programs that affect young workers.

A Detailed Look at Employment of Youths Aged 12 to 15
This section examines employment patterns of youth based on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997.

Trends in Youth Employment: Data from the Current Population Survey
This section provides data from the Current Population Survey on incidence and type of employment for youths in various demographic and income groups.

Youth Employment in Agriculture
This section focuses on paid employment of youths in crop agriculture.

Occupational Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities
This section provides a statistical profile of risks to the safety and health of working youths.

The Relationship of Youth Employment to Future Educational Attainment and Labor Market Experience
This section examines the relations between youths' work activities while in school and their future educational attainment and labor market success.

Summer Youth 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 as high school and college students take or search for summer employment. This web page provides statistics from BLS's Current Population Survey that examine employment and unemployment among youth.

Seasonal and Sectoral Patterns in Youth Employment
This article examines the seasonal and sectoral patterns in youth employment using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

The BLS Kids Page
Gives information about different careers and their educational requirements. Written for a youth audience.