2019 Summer Employment and Unemployment Among Youth — 2019-08-16

From April to July 2019, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by 2.4 million to 21.2 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In July 2019, 56.2 percent of young people were employed, up from 55.0 percent in July 2018. (The month of July typically is the summertime peak in youth employment.) The unemployment rate for youth was 9.1 percent in July, the lowest rate since July 1966, and little changed from the prior year. (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.) The youth labor force--16- to 24-year-olds working or actively looking for work--grows sharply between April and July each year. During these months, large numbers of high school and college students search for or take summer jobs, and many graduates enter the labor market to look for or begin permanent employment.