Though getting a summer job has been a student tradition for generations, the tough jobs market has particularly affected young people looking for employment. Youth job participation in July - normally the peak employment month for people ages 16 to 24 - was the worst since the government began keeping track in 1948.
Among the civilian noninstitutional population, less than half (48.8%) of young people were employed last month, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday.
Young workers are being shunned by potential employers for more experienced workers - with families to feed - who will work for the same pay.
The number of employed youths rose by 1.7 million to 18.6 million and the July unemployment rate for young people was 18.1% - nearly twice the 9.1% rate for the general population.
Between the months of April and July, unemployment among youth increased by 745,000, more than last year’s increase of 571,000 - but well below the levels seen in 2008 and 2009 when it increased by just over one million each year.
The economic crisis has made it very difficult for students who are saving for college or attempting to pay off student loans - which averaged $23,000 for this year’s graduate.
Source:
Bureau of Labor Statistics