2006 Summer Employment and Unemployment Among Youth — 2006-08-25

From April to July, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by 2.5 million to 21.9 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. July is the traditional summertime peak for youth employment. This summer�s increase in youth employment was slightly lower than last year's 2.7 million increase. Un- employment among youth increased by 658,000 between April and July, a much larger rise than in the prior year but about the same as in 2003 and 2004. (Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur every spring and summer, the data are not sea- sonally adjusted.) The youth labor force--16- to 24-year-olds working or actively looking for work--grows sharply between April and July each year.