From April to July this year, the number of employed 16- to 24-year-old “youth” increased by 1.9 million, to 21 million, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Summertime youth employment traditionally peaks in July. This year’s increase in the number of youth with summer jobs was less than last year’s 2.3 million increase. At the same time, unemployment among youth increased by 1.2 million between April and July 2008 – more than twice the increase in youth unemployment during the same period in 2007.
This year’s summer youth labor force – the number of all youth seeking work – grew by 3.1 million to a total of 24.4 million in July. The July 2008 labor force participation rate for male youth was 68 percent, and the rate for female youth was 62 percent. Since July 1989, the labor force participation rate of youth has trended downward for both males (down 15 percentage points) and females (down 10 percentage points). Free online. (202) 691-6378, www.bls.gov/news.release/youth.nr0.htm.
