Child Labor Statistics

Laws and regulations limiting the extent of work that children can perform have been in place for many years. However, within the limits of these laws, many youths are employed in seasonal or year-round jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) regularly conducts research and provides reports on trends in youth labor.

Webpages on this Topic

Summer Youth Labor Force
The youth labor force – 16- to 24-year-olds working or actively looking for work – grows sharply between April and July each year as high school and college students take or search for summer employment. This web page provides statistics from BLS's Current Population Survey that examine employment and unemployment among youth.

Seasonal and Sectoral Patterns in Youth Employment
This article examines the seasonal and sectoral patterns in youth employment using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.