Children's Defense Fund Reports Youth Employment Rate Fell to Lowest Level for January in 39 Years

2/18/2004

From: John Norton of the Children's Defense Fund, 202-662-3609

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) today said that only 34 percent of teenagers age 16-19 were employed (part- or full-time) in January 2004, marking the lowest youth employment rate for the month of January since 1965. This finding, based on Labor Department figures, comes on the heels of the Bush Administration slashing nearly a third of a billion dollars from youth employment programs during the last two years, CDF noted.

"Young workers are often the last hired and first fired, and that certainly appears to be the case here," said Arloc Sherman, a Senior Research Associate at CDF. "Young workers these days often use these jobs to help save for college, support their family, or just give them a good strong launch into the workforce. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has already cut the very programs that help teens find work."

Since 2002 the Bush Administration has cut funding for youth programs under the Workforce Investment Act by $352 million (26 percent). In addition, the Administration's proposed 2005 budget cuts support for vocational and technical education overall by nearly $323 million (25 percent).

Overall, youths age 16 to 19 have lost more than one million jobs since January 2000, according to Labor Department data (not seasonally). The same data show that, as of January 2004:

-- 33.2 percent of male teens worked -- the lowest percentage on record (records start in 1948).

-- 34.9 percent of female teens worked -- the lowest since 1972.

-- 19.6 percent of Black teens worked -- the lowest since 1984.

-- 27.2 percent of Latino teens worked -- the lowest on record (records for Latino teens start in 1994).

Although January's employment report contained bad news for many age groups, CDF said the employment decline was steeper for teens than any other age group. CDF added that for teens, as for other age groups, the employment decline was not fully reflected in the official unemployment statistics. Instead, it was largely driven by workers departing from the labor force, a group that is not considered in official unemployment calculations.

Because many teens are enrolled in school in January, some of the decline in paid employment might reflect a shift from working for a paycheck toward further education. However, other data suggest that school is not the only force driving down youth employment. Teen employment rates also hit record lows in the out- of-school summer months of June, July and August 2003. And a recent report from the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University notes that even the employment rate of high school graduates not in higher education (age 16 to 19) dropped from 71 percent in 2000 to 62 percent in 2003.

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The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind(r) and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.