Labor report points to jobless summer for young people

“This year, the share of young people who were employed in July was 48.9 percent, the lowest July rate on record for the series, which began in 1948,” it announced on Friday. 

The BLS states the youth labor force, those between the ages of 16 and 24, grows sharply between April and July each year as high school and college students begin their search for summer or permanent employment. July is typically the summertime peak for these workers because many of them return to school in August. 

The number of youth workers this year is 2.5 percent lower than totals from July of 2009. 

“July 2010 marks the first time in the history of the series that less than half of all youth 16 to 24 years old were employed in that month,” the BLS states. “The sharp decline in recent years reflects continued weak labor market conditions experienced during the recession that begin in December, 2007.” 

The youth unemployment rate was 19.1 percent for July, the highest on record.