Youth and the Labor Force: Background and Trends

"This report provides current and historical employment and unemployment information about young people ages 16 through 24. It begins with a brief background on the December 2007-June 2009 recession and its lasting effects on youth currently in the labor force. It then discusses employment and education pathways that young people today can pursue. The report goes on to provide data on labor force participation, employment, and unemployment in the post-World War II period, with a focus on trends since 2000. This discussion compares rates based on age, gender, race/ethnicity, and income, where applicable. The report concludes by exploring the factors that influence the extent to which youth participate in the labor force and their prospects for employment. This last section also discusses the possible consequences of decreasing employment and increasing unemployment among youth. The Appendix includes supplemental tables and figures on the youth employment situation. The findings of the report are discussed in the summary. Given the challenges that young people experience in the labor market, this report may be of interest to Congress in the context of workforce development, education, unemployment insurance, youth policy, or macroeconomic policy; however, the report does not discuss specific programs or policy implications" (p.1). (Abstractor: Author)

"• Over the past decade, teens and young adults have experienced a precipitous decline in employment and a corresponding increase in unemployment. In 2000, their employment to population (E/P) ratio, or employment rate, was about 60%. Their E/P ratio steadily eroded even when the economy grew in the mid-2000s. The December 2007-June 2009 recession resulted in record low employment for this population. Since the official end of the recession, younger workers have continued to fare poorly in the labor market. In 2011, youth ages 16 through 24 had an E/P ratio of 45.5% and a rate of unemployment at 17.3%. This is compared to an employment rate of 75.1% and an unemployment rate of 7.9% for workers of prime working age, 25 through 54. • Recent declining employment rates for young people are likely due to decreasing demand for labor generally and youth foregoing work for higher education. • Throughout the post-World War II period, the E/P ratio has been highest for white youth, followed by Hispanic youth. Black and Asian youth have been the least likely to be employed. For black youth, this is likely due to lower educational attainment. Lower rates of employment for Asian youth is likely attributable to their increasing participation in postsecondary education. Young black males in particular have had the lowest E/P ratios. • Beginning in the 1970s, the E/P ratios for women increased as they entered the workforce in greater numbers. The gender difference in the E/P ratio for teens and young adults began to narrow in the 1990s, likely due to greater high school and college attainment among females and shifts in cultural expectations and public policies about women in the labor market” (v.i-ii). (Abstractor: Author)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2012
• Author(s): Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L.
• Organizational Author(s): Congressional Research Service
• Funding Source: Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by:
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies