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Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Unemployment Rates High for Oregon's Youth

The Oregon Employment Department recently released a new report, Endangered: Youth in the Labor Force. One of the main findings of this report was the youth unemployment rate far exceeded, and still exceeds, the population as a whole.  

In the graph below, notice the gray, shaded area farthest to the right. This marks the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009. During this time, the unemployment rate increased across the board, but youth experienced a much greater increase. In particular, those in the 16 to 19 year old age bracket were hit the hardest and their unemployment rate was 27.4 percent in 2013. For those in the 20 to 24 group, the rate was 12.5 percent. These rates continue to remain higher than the historic rates for youth.


There is a popular belief that the Great Recession increased the number of "idle" youth. Idle refers to those neither in school nor in the labor force. However, this number has remained steady at around 10 percent of those ages 16 to 24 years old.

For an in-depth analysis of youth in Oregon's labor market, read the full report here: Endangered: Youth in the Labor Force.

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