1999 Employment Experience of Youths: Results from a Longitudinal Survey — 1999-04-30

More than half (57 percent) of youths participate in some type of work activity while age 14, and nearly two-thirds (64 percent) work at some point while age 15, according to a new survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Work, as defined in the survey, can include "employee" jobs, in which youths have an on-going relationship with a particular employer, such as a restaurant or supermarket, and/or "freelance" jobs outside the home, where the youth is doing tasks such as baby-sitting or yard work. These findings are from the first round of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, a nationally representative sample of 9,022 young men and women who were 12 to 16 years of age on December 31, 1996. The survey provides information on employment experiences, schooling, family background, social behavior, and other characteristics.