2000 Summer Employment and Unemployment Among Youth — 2000-08-22

The number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by nearly 2.2 million between April and July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This year's seasonal expansion in employment of 16- to 24-year-olds brought the employment-population ratio for the group to 65.0 percent, about what it had been in July 1998 and July 1999. The number of unemployed youth normally grows at this time of year as well and this year increased by 469,000. (Because the focus of this analysis is the seasonal changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur every spring and summer, the data are not seasonally adjusted.) The youth labor force--16- to 24-year-olds working or actively looking for work--grows sharply between April and July each year as high school and college students take or search for summer employment. Recent graduates who are looking for more permanent employment also add to this seasonal increase.