For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, August 21, 2012 USDL-12-1717
Technical information: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUTH -- SUMMER 2012
From April to July 2012, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old rose 2.1
million to 19.5 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This
year, the share of young people employed in July was 50.2 percent. (The month of
July typically is the summertime peak in youth employment.) Unemployment among youth
increased by 836,000 from April to July 2012, compared with an increase of 745,000
for the same period in 2011. (Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes
in youth employment and unemployment that occur each spring and summer, the data are
not seasonally adjusted.)
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. During these months, large numbers
of high school and college students search for or take summer jobs, and many
graduates enter the labor market to look for or begin permanent employment. This
summer, the youth labor force grew by 2.9 million, or 14.2 percent, to a total of
23.5 million in July. (See table 1.)
The labor force participation rate for all youth--the proportion of the population
16 to 24 years old working or looking for work--was 60.5 percent in July, up from
July 2011. Taking a longer-term perspective, the July 2012 participation rate was
17.0 percentage points below the peak rate for that month in 1989 (77.5 percent).
The July 2012 labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-old men was 63.2
percent. The rate for young women was 57.8 percent. From 1948, when the series
began, to 1989, the July labor force participation rate for young men showed no
clear trend, ranging from 81 to 86 percent. Since 1989, however, their July
participation rate has trended down, falling by about 20 percentage points. The
July labor force participation rate for young women peaked in 1989 at 72.4 percent,
following a long-term upward trend. The participation rate of young women has fallen
by about 15 percentage points since 1989.
The youth labor force participation rate for whites was 62.9 percent in July 2012,
compared with 54.5 percent for blacks, 43.7 percent for Asians, and 57.1 percent for
Hispanics.
Employment
Employment for 16- to 24-year-olds reached 19.5 million in July 2012, up 2.1 million
since April. In 2011, youth employment rose by 1.7 million from April to July. The
July 2012 employment-population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-
year-old civilian noninstitutional population with a job--was 50.2 percent, up from
July 2011. (See table 2.)
In July 2012, the youth employment-population ratio for men was 51.9 percent, and
the ratio for women was 48.4 percent. The ratio for whites was 53.5 percent, compared with
38.9 percent for blacks, 37.4 percent for Asians, and 46.5 percent for Hispanics.
Twenty-six percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and hospitality sector
(which includes food services) in July 2012, the same proportion as in July 2011.
Another 19 percent of employed youth worked in the retail trade industry in July
2012, down slightly from the proportion in July 2011. (See table 3.)
Unemployment
The number of unemployed youth in July 2012 was 4.0 million, little changed from 4.1
million a year ago. The youth unemployment rate was 17.1 percent in July 2012. The
unemployment rate for young men was 17.9 percent, in July 2012, and the rate for
women was 16.2 percent. The jobless rate for whites was 14.9 percent, compared with
28.6 percent for blacks, 14.4 percent for Asians, and 18.5 percent for Hispanics.
(See table 2.)
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| |
| Adjustments to Population Estimates for Youth |
| |
| Updated population controls are introduced annually with the |
| release of January data. The updated controls in January 2012 |
| incorporated the Census 2010 population base for the first time; |
| prior years’ data shown in this release used the Census 2000 |
| population base. The introduction of Census 2010-based controls |
| had a disproportionate effect on the population age 16 to 24. |
| Consequently, data for 2012 are not strictly comparable to those |
| for earlier years. For more information, see Adjustments to |
| Household Survey Population Estimates in January 2012 on the BLS |
| website at www.bls.gov/cps/cps12adj.pdf. |
|_____________________________________________________________________|
