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Youth employment and unemployment, July 2014

August 19, 2014

In July 2014, 51.9 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds were employed, up from 50.7 percent a year earlier. (The month of July typically is the summertime peak in youth employment.) The labor force participation rate for all youth was 60.5 percent in July, the same as the July value in the prior two summers, but above the July low of 59.5 percent in 2011.

The summer labor force participation rate of youth has been declining for many years. The July 2014 participation rate was 17.0 percentage points below the peak rate for that month in 1989 (77.5 percent).

Labor force participation Employment Unemployment  
Labor force participation rates of 16- to 24-year-olds in July, by sex, not seasonally adjusted, 1974–2014
YearBoth sexesMenWomen

1974

73.284.362.6

1975

73.083.563.1

1976

74.183.864.9

1977

74.784.565.2

1978

76.585.068.4

1979

76.685.068.4

1980

76.384.468.5

1981

75.382.768.0

1982

74.781.268.5

1983

75.683.068.4

1984

76.382.570.3

1985

76.582.870.3

1986

76.782.970.6

1987

76.381.471.3

1988

76.982.571.4

1989

77.582.872.4

1990

75.180.869.5

1991

73.679.667.6

1992

74.679.869.5

1993

74.579.569.5

1994

74.178.869.4

1995

74.379.369.3

1996

73.378.368.3

1997

73.076.569.4

1998

72.876.369.3

1999

72.676.069.1

2000

71.675.268.1

2001

70.774.167.2

2002

69.572.366.6

2003

67.370.064.5

2004

67.270.463.9

2005

66.669.663.6

2006

66.769.763.6

2007

65.067.962.1

2008

65.168.162.1

2009

63.064.961.1

2010

60.562.758.1

2011

59.561.457.6

2012

60.563.257.8

2013

60.562.758.2

2014

60.563.257.8
Employment-population ratios of 16- to 24-year-olds in July, by sex, not seasonally adjusted, 1974–2014
YearBoth sexesMenWomen

1974

64.174.953.9

1975

61.169.753.0

1976

63.772.155.6

1977

64.773.756.0

1978

66.975.358.8

1979

67.675.659.9

1980

65.171.758.8

1981

64.871.558.2

1982

61.866.856.9

1983

63.368.957.8

1984

66.171.361.0

1985

65.971.260.8

1986

66.772.061.5

1987

67.372.062.7

1988

68.573.563.7

1989

69.274.464.1

1990

67.072.261.8

1991

63.568.558.4

1992

63.868.259.4

1993

64.668.660.6

1994

64.768.560.8

1995

64.969.660.1

1996

64.168.160.0

1997

64.667.761.5

1998

64.967.862.0

1999

65.268.262.3

2000

64.867.961.6

2001

63.366.360.2

2002

60.963.258.5

2003

58.360.156.6

2004

58.962.055.8

2005

59.361.657.0

2006

59.261.956.5

2007

58.060.355.6

2008

56.057.954.2

2009

51.452.250.5

2010

48.949.948.0

2011

48.850.247.3

2012

50.251.948.4

2013

50.751.749.6

2014

51.953.650.1
Unemployment rates of 16- to 24-year-olds in July, by sex, not seasonally adjusted, 1974–2014
YearBoth sexesMenWomen

1974

12.411.214.0

1975

16.316.516.1

1976

14.113.914.2

1977

13.312.714.1

1978

12.611.314.0

1979

11.711.112.4

1980

14.715.114.2

1981

14.013.514.5

1982

17.317.716.9

1983

16.216.915.5

1984

13.413.613.1

1985

13.713.913.5

1986

13.013.012.9

1987

11.711.512.0

1988

10.910.910.8

1989

10.710.111.4

1990

10.910.611.1

1991

13.713.913.6

1992

14.514.614.4

1993

13.313.612.9

1994

12.713.112.3

1995

12.712.213.3

1996

12.613.012.1

1997

11.411.411.4

1998

10.811.210.4

1999

10.110.39.9

2000

9.69.79.5

2001

10.510.610.4

2002

12.412.512.2

2003

13.314.212.2

2004

12.312.012.7

2005

11.011.510.5

2006

11.211.211.1

2007

10.811.110.4

2008

14.015.012.8

2009

18.519.717.3

2010

19.120.517.5

2011

18.118.317.8

2012

17.117.916.2

2013

16.317.614.8

2014

14.315.113.4

In July 2014, 25 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and hospitality industry (which includes food services), and 19 percent worked in the retail trade industry. These two industries typically account for large shares of summer youth employment.

The youth unemployment rate was 14.3 percent in July 2014, 2.0 percentage points less than a year before. Among the major demographic groups, July unemployment rates were lower than the prior year for young men (15.1 percent), young women (13.4 percent), whites (12.2 percent), and blacks (24.8 percent), while youth jobless rates changed little for Asians (10.9 percent), and Hispanics (16.5 percent).

These data are from the Current Population Survey. 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. For more information, see "Employment and Unemployment among Youth — Summer 2014" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL‑14‑1498. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Youth employment and unemployment, July 2014 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2014/ted_20140819.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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