---
title: "Youth Unemployment Rate (16-24)"
slug: youth-unemployment-rate-16-24
summary: "Youth unemployment was little changed at 9.9% in September 2026"
category: "AI & Work"
unit: percent
frequency: monthly
direction: higher_is_worse
latest_value: 9.9
latest_period: "2026-09"
trend: stable
last_updated: "2026-10-02T00:00:00Z"
source: "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data retrieved via FRED"
source_url: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS14024887
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). Youth Unemployment Rate (16-24) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"Youth Unemployment Rate (16-24).\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"Youth Unemployment Rate (16-24).\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24/."
---

# Youth Unemployment Rate (16-24)

> Youth unemployment was little changed at 9.9% in September 2026

## Current Reading

As of September 2026, Youth Unemployment Rate (16-24) is **9.9%** (stable).

unemployment rate for workers ages 16 to 24

## What Changed

- Youth unemployment (ages 16 to 24) was little changed at 9.9% in September 2026, compared with 9.1% in August 2026.
- Little changed from a year earlier, when it was 10.4%.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2026-09 | 9.9% |
| 2026-08 | 9.1% |
| 2026-07 | 8.5% |
| 2026-06 | 9.2% |
| 2026-05 | 9.4% |
| 2026-04 | 9.5% |
| 2026-03 | 8.5% |
| 2026-02 | 9.5% |
| 2026-01 | 8.9% |
| 2025-12 | 10.4% |
| 2025-11 | 10.6% |
| 2025-09 | 10.4% |

## Historical Context

This series is not comparable end to end, so no all-time extreme or long-run average is published for it. The source changed what it measures on the following date(s):

- January 1967: In 1967 BLS refined its employment and unemployment concepts and raised the lower age limit for official labor force statistics from 14 to 16, so earlier youth rates were not measured the same way. Source: https://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf
- January 1994: BLS redesigned the Current Population Survey questionnaire in January 1994; in the parallel test survey teenagers had higher jobless rates than in the official survey, so youth rates before and after are not strictly comparable. Source: https://www.bls.gov/cps/revisions1994.pdf

Compare readings only within a single segment. Subtracting across one of these dates measures the change in method, not in household conditions.

## Methodology

This indicator carries monthly observations and is interpreted as higher values indicate worse household conditions. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data retrieved via FRED.
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data retrieved via FRED — [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS14024887](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS14024887)

Data retrieved: 2026-10-02T00:00:00Z

## Related Indicators

- [part-time-for-economic-reasons](https://americandefault.org/indicators/part-time-for-economic-reasons/)
- [u-6-underemployment-rate](https://americandefault.org/indicators/u-6-underemployment-rate/)
- [unemployment-rate](https://americandefault.org/indicators/unemployment-rate/)

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). Youth Unemployment Rate (16-24) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "Youth Unemployment Rate (16-24)." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "Youth Unemployment Rate (16-24)." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/youth-unemployment-rate-16-24/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.