More than seven in 10 US teens jobless in summer

[marmar]

WASHINGTON — Once a rite of passage to adulthood, summer jobs for teens are disappearing.

Fewer than three in 10 American teenagers now hold jobs such as running cash registers, mowing lawns or busing restaurant tables from June to August. The decline has been particularly sharp since 2000, with employment for 16-to-19-year olds falling to the lowest level since World War II.

And teen employment may never return to pre-recession levels, suggests a projection by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The drop in teen employment, steeper than for other age groups, is partly a cultural shift. More youths are spending summer months in school, at music or learning camps or in other activities geared for college. But the decline is especially troubling for teens for whom college may be out of reach, leaving them increasingly idle and with few options to earn wages and job experience. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20120612/US.Disappearing.Teen.Jobs/

[Blue_Tires]

1. Well, here in Va. Beach, the hotels/resorts at the oceanfront

famously started to insource summer labor from Eastern Europe, which has kept wages nice and low...(which of course feeds the local business myth that 'local teens don't want to do these jobs')

[orpupilofnature57]

3. Cape Cod ,is all Eastern European labor

And Efficient ,Cheerful souls they are ,I honestly couldn't say the same for " Local Teens " .

[JoePhilly]

5. Parts of the NC Outer Banks also.

[Blue_Tires]

9. Cheerful, polite, yes...

And as long as you don't ask questions about anything other than the menu or making change, then you're ok...

I just think they're working WAY too hard for that paltry $7/hr...

[orpupilofnature57]

10. No Doubt , amid people throwing it away , it's always

the Way.

[ret5hd]

2. It's been 15 yrs since i've had a kid knock on my door asking...

to mow my lawn.

Longer than that since a kid delivered the paper.

[laundry_queen]

6. That's sad.

Maybe since you've been there for 15 years all the kids have grown up and moved away? That was the case in my parent's neighborhood.

My daughter has a weekly paper route, as do several kids in her class - but it pays crap, below min wage if you work it out hourly. My older daughter also had one, but is now looking for a job (she'll be 15) and most places won't hire until she's 16. Even babysitting jobs - which were a rite of passage for girls when I was growing up - are scarce as parents just don't trust anyone but family to watch their kids. And everyone here hires lawn companies to take care of their lawn.

It's not easy to be a teen right now. So far, my girls and their friends are better kids than I ever was so I won't complain about this generation.

[orpupilofnature57]

7. In 1976 all you had to do was show up

Teens are far better than we were ,It's sad we couldn't of given them a better world.

[gregoire]

4. Conservatives have meet their goals for one demographic

Expect the 20-25 year-old demographic to be their next target.

[orpupilofnature57]

8. Welcome to DU gregoire !

College loans , no work , disparaging remarks from dinosaurs that lived on a different planet ,I agree probably the next Victims of unfounded fears.