Executive Summary:
“The State of Youth Employment” report shows that one in 11 Pennsylvania youth 16-21 is idle, defined as not working and not enrolled in school. One in seven Pennsylvanians 19-21 is not working and not enrolled in school.
Broken down by geographic area, one in five urban Pennsylvanians 19-21 is idle; one in seven rural youth 19-21 is idle; and slightly more than one in nine PA youth ages 19-21 living in suburban areas are not employed and not enrolled.
The data, an analysis of 2000 U.S. Census Bureau statistics and Current Population Surveys from 1996-2004, show that only 60 percent of Pennsylvanians 19-21 were employed from 2002-2004. While 60 percent of idle youth in Pennsylvania are white, the employment challenges facing racial minorities are even greater: 1 in 3 African American and Hispanic youth (19-21) is idle.
Summer youth employment for high school students has been declining over recent years, too. From 2002 to 2004, less than half of Pennsylvania 16-18-year olds worked during the summer. Increased competition from jobless adults, a surge of retired workers re-entering the workforce, new college graduates working at jobs that do not require a college degree and a lack of jobs all impact youth employment.
