The provisions also prohibit 14- and 15-year-olds from working during school hours and limit the number of hours and times of day they can work. Many Children Are Illegally Employed; Illegal Employment Varies by Age and Gender

As in 1990, we estimated that as many as 4 percent of all 15- to 17-year-olds who worked in 2001 worked illegally, either because they worked more hours than allowed under the law or because they worked in prohibited hazardous occupations. 3). Fatalities Have Changed Little; Extent of Change in Other Work-Related Injuries to Children Is Unclear

The number and characteristics of children who die each year as a result of a work-related injury have changed little over the past decade. It is difficult, however, to determine whether the number of work-related injuries to children has changed, because the two primary sources of data on nonfatal injuries to working children—BLS and NIOSH—provide significantly different estimates of the number of children injured over the decade. 7.) Conclusions

By allowing and encouraging children to work, the nation acknowledges that children can derive many benefits from working, such as independence, confidence, and responsibility. Estimating the Number of Children Employed Illegally in the United States

To estimate the number of children who are employed illegally in the United States—children employed in violation of the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)—we compared data obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s (BLS) Current Population Survey (CPS) on children in the United States who work to the child labor provisions of FLSA. Appendix IV: Comments from The Department of Labor

	GAO Comments

1. 16. 17.
What GAO Found

In 2001, almost 40 percent of all 16- and 17-year-olds in the United States and many 14- and 15-year-olds worked at some time in the year. Children in the United States are often encouraged to work, and many people believe that children benefit from early work experiences by developing independence, confidence, and responsibility. However, the public also wants to ensure that the work experiences of young people enhance, rather than harm, their future opportunities. The number and characteristics of working children have changed little over the past decade. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, as in 1990, as many as 3.7 million children aged 15 to 17 worked in 2001. The number of children who die each year from work-related injuries has changed little since 1992, but the number of children who incurred nonfatal injuries while working is more difficult to determine because data from different sources provide different estimates of the number of injuries and trends over time. The Department of Labor devotes many resources to ensuring compliance with the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, including conducting nationwide campaigns designed to increase public awareness of the provisions, but its compliance efforts suffer from limitations that may prevent adequate enforcement of the law.