Teen Jobs Flat To Lower As Divergence With Older Americans Develops

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Summary

Teen employment was mostly flat to lower in September 2023.
The recent experience of working teens runs counter to that of adults Age 20 and older in the U.S.
Teens, the most marginal members of the U.S. labor force thanks to having the least education, skills, and work experience of all members within it, are experiencing a more negative employment situation than older Americans.

Smiling female entrepreneur with laptop standing in office — The Good Brigade/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Teen employment was mostly flat to lower in September 2023.

After seasonal adjustments, some 5,570,000 Americans Age 16 through 19 were counted as having jobs during the month, down 14,000 from August 2023's level. As a percentage of the Age 16-19 population, the share of working teens dipped from August's 32.4% to 32.3%.

That continues the downward trend established since April 2023, when seasonally adjusted teen employment peaked at 5,796,000 and the employed-to-population ratio peaked at 33.7%. The five months since April 2023 have seen the number of working teens decrease by 226,000.

The following charts present the seasonally-adjusted data for teen employment and the teen employment-to-population ratio in the U.S. from January 2016 through September 2023, also indicating the data for the Age 16-17 and Age 18-19 subgroups within the teen population.

U.S. Teen Employment and Employment to Population Ratio, Seasonally Adjusted, January 2016-September 2023

The recent experience of working teens runs counter to that of adults Age 20 and older in the U.S. In April 2023, the seasonally adjusted number of working adults stood at 155,236,000, or 62.28% of the estimated Age 20+ population. By September 2023, the number of Americans Age 20 and older increased to 156,000,000, representing an employment-to-population ratio of 62.36%.

The data suggests a divergence is developing within the U.S. labor market. Teens, the most marginal members of the U.S. labor force thanks to having the least education, skills, and work experience of all members within it, are experiencing a more negative employment situation than older Americans.

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