August 14, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Lowest July labor force participation rate for youth since 1971
The labor force participation rate for youth—the proportion of the population age 16 to 24 working or looking for work—was 69.5 percent in July, down from 70.8 percent a year earlier. This was the lowest July labor force participation rate for youth since 1971.
[Chart data—TXT]
The decline in labor force participation among youths may be due, in part, to the softness in the labor market this year. It also may reflect an increase in school enrollment—26 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in school in July 2002, an increase of about 10 percentage points since July 1994. About half of the youth in school in July were in the labor force, compared with three-fourths of those not in school.
The labor force participation rate for young men in July has been trending down since 1990, and at 72.2 percent, was at its lowest point on record for July. The participation rate among young women (66.7 percent) changed little from July 2001. The July 2002 rates for young whites (72.5 percent) and young blacks (57.3 percent) decreased from their July 2001 values.
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
2002," news release USDL 02-478.
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 »