|Figure 28. Unemployment rates of 16- to 24-year-olds, by sex, race/ethnicity, and age group: 2003|
2Hispanics may be of any race.
NOTE: The unemployment rate is the proportion of those in the labor force who are not working but are seeking employment. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, unpublished data.
In 2003, the unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds was higher than the rate for 20- to 24-year-olds, a pattern that has persisted since 1960. Unemployment rates increased between the years 2000 and 2003 in each gender and race/ethnicity category except for Hispanic females ages 16 to 19. In 2003, the unemployment rate for males ages 16 to 19 was 17 percent for Whites, lower than the rate for Hispanics (22 percent), which was lower than the rate for Blacks (36 percent). A similar relationship was detected for females in this age group: the unemployment rate for Whites was 13 percent, compared to 18 percent for Hispanics and 30 percent for Blacks. Differences in the unemployment rates were also found for young adults ages 20 to 24. In this age group, White and Hispanic males had a lower unemployment rate than Black males (9 percent and 10 percent, respectively, vs. 21 percent); the unemployment rate for White females was lower (8 percent) than the rate for Hispanic females (11 percent), which was lower than the unemployment rate for Black females (19 percent).