Occupational Employment of Workers Ages 16-24 Varies by Sex

By Lainey Stalnaker, Data Analytics Writer

As workers gain experience and education, the types of jobs they are employed in tend to change. The youngest workers, who typically have the least experience, are mostly employed in occupations that have minimal education, training, and experience requirements. The specific jobs they choose, however, show variations by sex.

In 2025, the overwhelming majority of South Carolina workers between the ages of 16 and 24 worked in a service or sales occupation, though women were more likely than men to work these jobs. At 36 percent, women most frequently worked in service occupations, while 30 percent of men worked in service occupations. An additional 29 percent of women worked in sales and related occupations; a much smaller 10 percent of men worked jobs in this group. 

Young men were more likely, when compared to their proportions in sales roles, to work in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (17%); transportation and material moving occupations (14%); and production occupations (13%) while a combined seven percent of women worked in these three occupation groups. The figure below breaks down employment of men and women ages 16 to 24 by occupation group [1].

[1] Source: U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Current Population Survey (CPS) Datasets,” https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/cps/cps-basic.2025.html#list-tab-1979780401