Youth Unemployment Rate, Figures by State

Subscribe
Newsletters
Advertise

Select Category:

| More

Youth Unemployment Rate, Figures by State

The youth unemployment rate was 16.1 percent in April 2013 for those between the ages of 16 and 24, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the 16 to 19 age group, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 24.1 percent; for those ages 20 to 24, it was 13.1 percent.

Youth unemployment steadily climbed during the recession, reaching a peak of 19.6 percent in April 2010. The unemployment rate has since slowly declined as more younger workers found jobs, but remains well above the national rate.

Many youth gave up their job search or went back to school as employment opportunities disappeared. Factoring in these young adults, the youth unemployment rate would be even higher.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provided Governing annual state youth unemployment rates for 2012, the most recent data available, shown in the table below.

Mississippi recorded the highest youth unemployment rate (23 percent) for the age 16 to 24 population, followed by South Carolina (22.9 percent), Georgia (20.6 percent) and California (20.2 percent).

Youth Unemployment Rates By State: 2012 Annual Data

State	Age 16-24 Rate	Age 16-19 Rate	Age 20-24 Rate
Alabama	16.3	17.1	16.0
Alaska	14.8	20.6	12.3
Arizona	17.6	28.9	13.3
Arkansas	17.7	26.2	14.8
California	20.2	34.6	15.9
Colorado	16.7	26.2	12.9
Connecticut	17.0	25.4	13.4
Delaware	15.2	23.8	12.0
District of Columbia	15.6	34.0	13.7
Florida	16.4	23.5	14.3
Georgia	20.6	29.6	17.5
Hawaii	13.5	29.7	8.9
Idaho	17.3	22.5	14.0
Illinois	18.5	27.1	15.0
Indiana	14.9	21.9	12.0
Iowa	11.0	16.8	8.4
Kansas	13.2	21.3	9.7
Kentucky	16.9	24.2	14.2
Louisiana	16.7	27.8	13.4
Maine	16.6	24.6	12.3
Maryland	13.4	21.8	10.5
Massachusetts	12.2	20.2	9.2
Michigan	16.9	21.5	14.5
Minnesota	11.0	18.6	7.7
Mississippi	23.0	24.0	22.6
Missouri	16.1	23.9	12.8
Montana	11.1	10.8	11.3
Nebraska	8.9	13.5	7.0
Nevada	17.6	25.6	15.2
New Hampshire	13.4	17.1	11.6
New Jersey	18.2	24.7	15.7
New Mexico	12.6	18.9	9.8
New York	18.0	28.4	14.7
North Carolina	18.8	25.4	16.0
North Dakota	7.2	12.4	5.0
Ohio	12.6	16.6	10.9
Oklahoma	10.8	14.5	9.6
Oregon	17.9	23.3	15.9
Pennsylvania	13.4	16.8	12.1
Rhode Island	17.2	25.9	13.4
South Carolina	22.9	31.7	19.8
South Dakota	9.9	11.4	9.4
Tennessee	13.5	20.4	10.6
Texas	13.5	21.1	10.8
Utah	11.9	20.7	7.7
Vermont	13.1	17.7	10.5
Virginia	16.8	25.9	13.1
Washington	16.7	28.6	12.0
West Virginia	15.7	18.8	14.7
Wisconsin	12.9	20.4	9.2
Wyoming	12.7	17.1	10.6

Since the start of the recession, the gap between the youth unemployment rate and the national unemployment rate has widened. The following graph shows the unemployment rate for those ages 16 to 24 compared to the age 25 and older population:

Unemployment Rate By Age | Create infographics

Another common measure of youth employment is the employment-to-population ratio, which better takes into account individuals not actively looking for work.

Adults have a higher employment-to-population ratio than youth workers. Labor Department statistics further indicate employment levels for younger age groups have been declining much faster. The annual employment-to-population ratio for 16-to-24 year-olds fell from an annual average of 53.1 percent in 2007 to 46 percent in 2012– a 7.1 percent decline.

Employment to Population Ratio | Create infographics

Comments

Add Your Comment

You are solely responsible for the content of your comments. GOVERNING reserves the right to remove comments that are considered profane, vulgar, obscene, factually inaccurate, off-topic, or considered a personal attack.

Comments must be fewer than 2000 characters.