Age

Employment rates for all age groups have been improving in recent years, particularly for youths (those aged 15 to 24). While youth jobless rates were persistently high during most of the 1990s, since 1997 youth employment has been improving and the number of youths with jobs jumped nearly 16%. During that same time period, the youth unemployment rate has fallen from 16% to 14%. There are also more older people (those aged 55 and older) in the work force: from 1993 to 2002, their numbers have risen 44%, twice the rate of increase in their population. However, older workers have a far harder time finding jobs after they've been laid off than do younger ones, and are much more likely to give up looking for work.

The wage gap between older and younger workers is noticeable, with older workers earning 81% more in average weekly wages from full-time jobs and more than double from part-time positions. It's quite likely that since older workers now have education levels comparable with those of younger ones, employers are willing to pay these older workers a premium for their years of experience.