Contemporary Child Labor and Declining School Attendance in the U.S. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1302

Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/

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Child Labor; Attendance Patterns; Elementary Secondary Education; National Surveys; Youth Employment; School Business Relationship; Student Characteristics; Age; Sex; Race; Ethnicity; Socioeconomic Status; Immigrants; Agriculture; Geographic Regions; Federal Legislation; Labor Legislation

The United States has experienced a 400% increase in reported child labor violations over the past decade, coinciding with declines in K-12 school attendance and enrollment. We examine the causal relationships between these patterns with microdata from the American Community Survey (ACS) from 2005 to 2023. Using a shift-share instrumental variable approach, our findings show that increased local demand for illegal child labor leads to higher youth employment in high-violation industries, longer work hours, and lower school attendance, particularly among Black youth and youth living on farms. A 10-percentage-point increase in the local share of employment in high child labor violation industries leads to a 7-percentage-point decline in public school attendance for children and youth aged 6 to 17. Results underscore the need to reevaluate labor protections and strengthen enforcement to prevent economic pressures from pulling vulnerable, young students away from school.

As Provided

2026

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