2008 Summer Employment and Unemployment Among Youth — 2008-08-28

From April to July 2008, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old increased by 1.9 million to 21.0 million, the Bureau of Labor Statis- tics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. July is the tradi- tional summertime peak for youth employment. This summer's increase in youth employment was lower than last year's 2.3 million increase. Unem- ployment among youth increased by 1.2 million between April and July 2008; this was more than twice the increase in youth unemployment during the same period in 2007. (Because this analysis focuses on 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.