The Labor Department's preliminary annual estimates for 2016 are shown in the table below. States posting the highest youth unemployment rates were New Mexico (15.9 percent), Illinois (14.2 percent) and West Virginia (13.6 percent).
Youth Unemployment Rates By State: 2016 Annual Data
| State | Age 16-24 | Age 16-19 | Age 20-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 12.3% | 19.3% | 10.0% |
| Alaska | 11.9% | 19.7% | 9.2% |
| Arizona | 11.1% | 14.0% | 9.9% |
| Arkansas | 8.9% | 13.6% | 7.0% |
| California | 10.3% | 17.8% | 8.0% |
| Colorado | 6.5% | 13.0% | 4.2% |
| Connecticut | 10.5% | 15.6% | 7.9% |
| Delaware | 8.7% | - | 6.6% |
| District of Columbia | 14.4% | - | 12.3% |
| Florida | 10.1% | 17.4% | 7.7% |
| Georgia | 13.4% | 20.8% | 10.8% |
| Hawaii | 7.0% | - | 6.3% |
| Idaho | 7.1% | 11.0% | 5.4% |
| Illinois | 14.2% | 19.6% | 12.0% |
| Indiana | 10.9% | 15.8% | 8.7% |
| Iowa | 7.2% | 7.4% | 7.1% |
| Kansas | 8.5% | 8.9% | 8.4% |
| Kentucky | 9.9% | 13.9% | 8.3% |
| Louisiana | 13.1% | 20.3% | 10.8% |
| Maine | 8.9% | - | 7.3% |
| Maryland | 9.9% | 16.2% | 7.7% |
| Massachusetts | 6.7% | 8.7% | 6.0% |
| Michigan | 10.6% | 16.6% | 8.4% |
| Minnesota | 8.0% | 10.1% | 6.7% |
| Mississippi | 12.6% | 21.3% | 9.9% |
| Missouri | 10.4% | 14.8% | 8.1% |
| Montana | 8.9% | 11.1% | 7.8% |
| Nebraska | 6.3% | 8.1% | 5.3% |
| Nevada | 9.7% | 17.6% | 6.7% |
| New Hampshire | 6.1% | 10.5% | 4.2% |
| New Jersey | 11.4% | 15.2% | 10.1% |
| New Mexico | 15.9% | 23.2% | 12.9% |
| New York | 10.5% | 16.7% | 8.5% |
| North Carolina | 12.6% | 17.3% | 10.8% |
| North Dakota | 6.3% | - | 5.3% |
| Ohio | 10.9% | 16.0% | 8.5% |
| Oklahoma | 11.9% | 13.8% | 11.2% |
| Oregon | 12.4% | 20.0% | 9.6% |
| Pennsylvania | 10.7% | 16.5% | 8.3% |
| Rhode Island | 11.3% | 16.2% | 9.0% |
| South Carolina | 10.5% | 14.0% | 9.2% |
| South Dakota | 7.0% | - | 5.8% |
| Tennessee | 10.3% | 14.1% | 8.9% |
| Texas | 10.3% | 15.6% | 8.3% |
| Utah | 6.0% | 8.7% | 4.7% |
| Vermont | 7.2% | 10.5% | 5.5% |
| Virginia | 9.6% | 16.4% | 6.9% |
| Washington | 12.3% | 20.5% | 9.1% |
| West Virginia | 13.6% | 22.9% | 10.3% |
| Wisconsin | 6.5% | 9.3% | 5.2% |
| Wyoming | 9.5% | 15.1% | 7.0% |
Youth unemployment steadily climbed during the recession, reaching a peak of 19.5 percent in April 2010. Some unemployed youth opted to stay in school to pad their resumes. Others couldn’t find work or weren’t willing to accept low-wage positions.
More recent national youth unemployment statistics suggest the outlook for younger workers has improved considerably since then.
Other measures suggest younger workers have a much further way to go in the recovery, however. The employment-to-population ratio for younger workers had only recovered about halfway for its recession-era decline as of early 2017. Youth employment rates have returned to pre-recession averages in just four states.
