July 24, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Youths from higher-income families more likely to work
Youths aged 15-17
from families with incomes greater than the national median are about
twice as likely to work as youths from families whose income is in the
lowest quartile.
![Employment-population ratios of 15-17 year olds in March 1999, by 1998 family income](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120921205414im_/http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/images/2000/Jul/wk4/art01.gif)
[Chart data—TXT]
In 1998, almost 30 percent of youths from families with annual incomes
above the median of $51,000 were employed. Only 15 percent of youths
worked when family income was below $27,300 (that is, families in the
lowest quartile).
There are a number of reasons why children of higher-income families
are more likely to work than those of
poorer families. Youths in higher-income families may have greater access
to a car or to an adult who will drive them to a place of work. It is also
possible that nonmarket work such as housework and unpaid child care more
often falls to youths in lower-income families; such families may have
fewer adults than higher-income families. This would make youths in
lower-income homes relatively less available for market work—or
available only for specific schedules.
Data on trends in youth employment are a product of the Current
Population Survey, a monthly labor
force survey of 50,000 households. Youths are considered employed if they
worked for pay at least 1 hour during the reference week or if they worked
for no pay in a family business for at least 15 hours. Income divisions in
the chart were determined using quartiles; in 1998, one quarter of
families had income below $27,300; one half had income below $51,000; and
three quarters had income below $80,000. Additional information is
available from Chapter 4 of the Report
on the Youth Labor Force.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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Read more »