2002 Summer Employment and Unemployment Among Youth — 2002-08-13

The number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by 2.4 million from April to July, the traditional summertime peak for youth employment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This year's seasonal expansion in youth employment was about the same size as last year's. Nevertheless, the proportion of youth in the labor force this July, 69.5 percent, was down from 70.8 percent last July and was the lowest rate for any July since 1971. The number of unemployed youth rose by 530,000 between April and July 2002; this was larger than the seasonal increases in the prior 3 years.