The proportion of young people who were employed in July was 51.4 percent, down 4.6 percentage points from July 2008 and the lowest rate in July since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the rate in 1948.
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Download NowThe steep decline from July 2008 to July 2009 reflects, in part, continued weak labor market conditions due to the recession that began in December 2007, the bureau said.
The youth labor force--16- to 24-year-olds working or actively looking for work--grows sharply between April and July each year, because of summer breaks for high schools and colleges. July is usually the summertime peak in youth employment.
The labor force participation rate for youth--the proportion of their population working or looking for work--was 63.0 percent in July 2009, down by 2.1 percentage points from July 2008 and 14.5 percentage points below its peak for that month in 1989 (77.5 percent). The youth participation rate was the lowest July rate since 1955 (62.8 percent).
In July 2009, 19.3 million 16- to 24-year-olds were employed. This summer's increase in youth employment was lower than last year's (1.6 million vs. 1.9 million).