The real reason teens don't have summer jobs anymore

[Lady Marva]

What is lost as teens don't learn work ethic in the summer...............

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/caree...cid=spartanntp
Toiling all summer as a camp counselor or lifeguard used to be a rite of passage for American teenagers, but they’ve been dropping out of the labor force for years.
Just over a third of teenagers currently work during the summer, about half the rate of teens 30 years ago.

During the recession, the decline of teen workers over the summer was often attributed to the tough job market as older, more experienced workers were finding themselves underemployed and competing with entry-level workers. Additionally, many retailers, which have served as significant teen employers, have been closing.
Now that the economy is near full employment, however, economist Ernie Tedeschi cites something else: summer school. In a new analysis, Tedeschi shows that the decline in teen workers in July matches almost exactly the rise in full-time students.

The results hold true across every income bracket. Tedeschi points out that the data does not show what types of classes teens are taking over the summer, so it’s difficult to determine the value of those courses.
Even as 40 percent of employers are hiring seasonal workers, many teenagers are too busy with school to take on the additional load of a job. Academic pressures and tougher graduation requirements may be spurring the shift toward summer school. And school years are getting longer, reducing the period of time available for summer work.*

While some argue that a lack of work is having a negative impact on young people, research on the benefits of having a summer job is mixed.

[Gingersnap]

Obviously, it's a mix of things. A lot of parents believe 'school is your job'; affluence or affluenza is a thing - I don't "need" food money, my kid doesn't have to work. Transport - an amazing number of the under 18 crowd simply can't drive and parents can't/want to drive them. Kids tend to apply online instead of just showing up and asking for a job. A lot of low-end food service/construction jobs will simply hire you off the street if you can pass the pee test. Many can't pass.

So, it's mix of things.

As a boss type, I could usually tell which HR references had worked as teens and which had not. Didn't mean I didn't hire people who had never dug ditches or drained a fryer but I could tell within a day day or so.

People with teen work experience were simply better at grasping work culture quickly.

[80zephyr]

When I was 15 I worked at a potato farm. When my youngest turned 15, he wanted a "hard" job to build his stamina. I called my old boss and asked him to give my son a job. He said "Mark, no one works anymore, we have machines to do what we need to do".

That is probably the best answer of all.

Mark

[Celeste Chalfonte]

When I was 15 I worked at a potato farm. When my youngest turned 15, he wanted a "hard" job to build his stamina. I called my old boss and asked him to give my son a job. He said "Mark, no one works anymore, we have machines to do what we need to do".

That is probably the best answer of all.

One morning many years ago we were at our favorite campground in Ocean City, MD. The garbage truck came through, and behind it, a teenage boy was jogging between pickups. We felt sorry for him, thinking the driver wouldn't wait until he jumped back on the truck. One of us saw him later and mentioned it...turned out, he was simultaneously earning money to buy a car and keeping in shape for football by jogging and pitching garbage cans.

Nova and I worked summers as lifeguards. The pay was so dreadful, it probably cost my parents more in gas than we saved for our respective cars. Our sister was the anti-jock, so she had to get creative when job-hunting. I think her most interesting job was when she worked in the morgue at Adventist Hospital during college. Her major qualification, other than being impervious to the odor of formalin, was an excellent blanket stitch.

[Norm dePlume]

I delivered newspapers from the age of 11 to 15 and then I dropped that for a janitor job. But I was bicycling around town in the evening at 11 years old collecting cash from subscribers with a zippered money pouch under my arm. Looking back, that just seems insane to me now.

[Novaheart]

I addition to working as a lifeguard, I once worked at a newsstand (store in strip shopping center) that also sold porno mags. The porno mags were all displayed on a high shelf out of reach and customers would ask for the magazine by number at the register. We would discreetly slip a magazine in a back without back turned to the counter and then place in inside the newspaper being purchased. Saturday and Sunday were our biggest days, selling Barron's and the New York Times in addition to the papers from Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston.

[Newman]

Obviously, it's a mix of things. A lot of parents believe 'school is your job'; affluence or affluenza is a thing - I don't "need" food money, my kid doesn't have to work. Transport - an amazing number of the under 18 crowd simply can't drive and parents can't/want to drive them. Kids tend to apply online instead of just showing up and asking for a job. A lot of low-end food service/construction jobs will simply hire you off the street if you can pass the pee test. Many can't pass.

So, it's mix of things.

As a boss type, I could usually tell which HR references had worked as teens and which had not. Didn't mean I didn't hire people who had never dug ditches or drained a fryer but I could tell within a day day or so.

People with teen work experience were simply better at grasping work culture quickly.

I think so, along with a number of good things. I've been saying of late young people need a workshop called How to Keep Your Job by Showing Up for Work, for example.

I find this from the article disturbing: "Just over a third of teenagers currently work during the summer, about half the rate of teens 30 years ago." That means that among the all-important peers, summer work is no longer something that most do, but something some do.

And thirty years is NOT that long a time. I choose to be optimistic, though. I believe a sustained, energetic economy will successfully compete for kids. Thirty years ago would be 1987, at the apogee of the Reagan recovery:

the deep recession throughout 1982 -- combined with falling oil prices -- had one important benefit: it curbed the runaway inflation that had started during the Carter years. Conditions improved for some segments of the economy in late 1983; by early 1984, the economy rebounded and the United States entered one of the longest periods of sustained economic growth since World War II. Japan agreed to impose a voluntary quota on its car exports to the United States. Consumer spending increased in response to the federal tax cut. The stock market climbed as it reflected the optimistic buying spree. Over a five-year period following the start of the recovery, GNP grew at an annual rate of 4.2 percent. The annual inflation rate remained between 3 and 5 percent from 1983 to 1987, except in 1986 when it fell to just under 2 percent -- the lowest level in decades. The nation's Gross National Product grew substantially during the 1980s; from 1982 to 1987, the U.S. economy created more than 13 million new jobs.

We've been slogging through a terrible period since in which a whole generation hasn't experience a boom time, when Help Wanted signs were like dandelions, and you didn't kvetch about low wages, if you cared - you changed jobs. A long stretch of economic doldrums can be very corrosive to society, we're seeing.

[scott]

I think so, along with a number of good things. I've been saying of late young people need a workshop called How to Keep Your Job by Showing Up for Work, for example.

I find this from the article disturbing: "Just over a third of teenagers currently work during the summer, about half the rate of teens 30 years ago." That means that among the all-important peers, summer work is no longer something that most do, but something some do.

And thirty years is NOT that long a time. I choose to be optimistic, though. I believe a sustained, energetic economy will successfully compete for kids. Thirty years ago would be 1987, at the apogee of the Reagan recovery: We've been slogging through a terrible period since in which a whole generation hasn't experience a boom time, when Help Wanted signs were like dandelions, and you didn't kvetch about low wages, if you cared - you changed jobs. A long stretch of economic doldrums can be very corrosive to society, we're seeing.

I think you're correct, that corrosion is what I talked about when I lamented all the stuff about the "new normal" 10 years ago. We have an entire generation that doesn't want to work.

[Billy Jingo]

And thirty years is NOT that long a time. I choose to be optimistic, though. I believe a sustained, energetic economy will successfully compete for kids. Thirty years ago would be 1987, at the apogee of the Reagan recovery: We've been slogging through a terrible period since in which a whole generation hasn't experience a boom time, when Help Wanted signs were like dandelions, and you didn't kvetch about low wages, if you cared - you changed jobs. A long stretch of economic doldrums can be very corrosive to society, we're seeing.

This is a cool rabbit hole!

Check this out.

From your link:

But the deep recession throughout 1982 -- combined with falling oil prices -- had one important benefit: it curbed the runaway inflation that had started during the Carter years. Conditions improved for some segments of the economy in late 1983; by early 1984, the economy rebounded and the United States entered one of the longest periods of sustained economic growth since World War II. Japan agreed to impose a voluntary quota on its car exports to the United States. Consumer spending increased in response to the federal tax cut. The stock market climbed as it reflected the optimistic buying spree. Over a five-year period following the start of the recovery, GNP grew at an annual rate of 4.2 percent. The annual inflation rate remained between 3 and 5 percent from 1983 to 1987, except in 1986 when it fell to just under 2 percent -- the lowest level in decades. The nation's Gross National Product grew substantially during the 1980s; from 1982 to 1987, the U.S. economy created more than 13 million new jobs.

However, an alarming percentage of this growth was based on deficit spending. Under Reagan the national debt nearly tripled. Furthermore, virtually all the growth in national wealth took place in the highest income group. Many poor and middle-class families actually lost ground, as low- and semi-skilled jobs were eliminated from the economy, or failed to keep pace with the rest of society.

Steadfast in his commitment to lower taxes, Reagan signed the most sweeping federal tax-reform measure in 75 years during his second term. This measure, which had widespread Democratic as well as Republican support, lowered income tax rates, simplified tax brackets and closed loopholes, taking an important step toward taxing low-income Americans more equitably. Still, serious problems remained. The chronically poor failed to benefit as the economy improved. Farmers continued to suffer, and serious droughts in 1986 and 1988 compounded their distress.

The increased military budget -- combined with the tax cuts and the growth in government health spending -- resulted in the federal government spending far more than it received in revenues each year. Some analysts charged that the deficits were part of a deliberate administration strategy to prevent further increases in domestic spending sought by the Democrats. However, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress refused to cut such spending. From $74 thousand million in 1980, the deficit soared to $221 thousand million in 1986 before falling back to $150 thousand million in 1987. A stock market crash in late 1987 dramatized doubts about the stability of the economy.

Your bit bolded.

Now a different link (here) with part of your bit bolded again:

The United States entered one of the longest periods of sustained economic growth since World War II. Consumer spending increased in response to the federal tax cut. The stock market climbed as it reflected the optimistic buying spree. Over a five-year period following the start of the recovery, Gross National Product grew at an annual rate of 4.2 percent. The annual inflation rate remained between 3 and 5 percent from 1983 to 1987, except in 1986 when it fell to just under 2 percent, the lowest level in decades. The nation's GNP grew substantially during the 1980s; from 1982 to 1987, its economy created more than 13 million new jobs.

Steadfast in his commitment to lower taxes, Reagan signed the most sweeping federal tax-reform measure in 75 years during his second term. This measure, which had widespread Democratic as well as Republican support, lowered income tax rates, simplified tax brackets, and closed loopholes.

However, a significant percentage of this growth was based on deficit spending. Moreover, the national debt, far from being stabilized by strong economic growth, nearly tripled. Much of the growth occurred in skilled service and technical areas. Many poor and middle class families did less well. The administration, although an advocate of free trade, pressured Japan to agree to a voluntary quota on its automobile exports to the United States.

The economy was jolted on October 19, 1987, "Black Monday," when the stock market suffered the greatest one-day crash in its history, 22.6 percent. The causes of the crash included the large U.S. international trade and federal-budget deficits, the high level of corporate and personal debt, and new computerized stock trading techniques that allowed instantaneous selling of stocks and futures. Despite the memories of 1929 it evoked, however, the crash was a transitory event with little impact. In fact, economic growth continued, with the unemployment rate dropping to a 14-year low of 5.2 percent in June 1988.

That is fucking awesome!

[Djharkavy]

My son is 14.

When I was 14, I went to summer camp, as did many of my friends. A handful did grocery deliveries (as I did on occasion) for a quarter a delivery, plus whatever tip you might garner from a customer. I'm guessing some worked fast food or restaurant work, but given the restrictions on minors working (anyone remember getting working papers) there probably weren't many.
Older teenagers could work an afternoon shift at McDonalds or equivalent, but few of my peers did. I worked in the public library my junior and senior year and was a CIT during the summer.

My son dislikes summer camp. He's done a few different ones, but never wanted to stay with them beyond a few weeks. He's never done sleepaway camps, and we haven't forced him to do so.
He's done Extra work in two TV shows and had a speaking part in one. He does stand-up and improv for fun, and this year, he's working as an intern with the improv comedy group that he trains with. He doesn't get paid, but we get half off the summer "camp"/class fees. He gets fed lunch and we pay for bus fare and a snack (which, at his age, costs as much as a meal, at least.)
The fast food jobs are all taken up by older people, either supplementing retirement or doing a second job to make ends meet. Grocery Delivery is now done on refrigerated trucks by large supermarkets or Amazon. Ethan will eventually have a paid position with the improv group if he wants it, but there aren't as many opportunities for teens who want to work. At least not around here.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

[Billy Jingo]

My son is 14.

When I was 14, I went to summer camp, as did many of my friends. A handful did grocery deliveries (as I did on occasion) for a quarter a delivery, plus whatever tip you might garner from a customer. I'm guessing some worked fast food or restaurant work, but given the restrictions on minors working (anyone remember getting working papers) there probably weren't many.
Older teenagers could work an afternoon shift at McDonalds or equivalent, but few of my peers did. I worked in the public library my junior and senior year and was a CIT during the summer.

My son dislikes summer camp. He's done a few different ones, but never wanted to stay with them beyond a few weeks. He's never done sleepaway camps, and we haven't forced him to do so.
He's done Extra work in two TV shows and had a speaking part in one. He does stand-up and improv for fun, and this year, he's working as an intern with the improv comedy group that he trains with. He doesn't get paid, but we get half off the summer "camp"/class fees. He gets fed lunch and we pay for bus fare and a snack (which, at his age, costs as much as a meal, at least.)
The fast food jobs are all taken up by older people, either supplementing retirement or doing a second job to make ends meet. Grocery Delivery is now done on refrigerated trucks by large supermarkets or Amazon. Ethan will eventually have a paid position with the improv group if he wants it, but there aren't as many opportunities for teens who want to work. At least not around here.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

There are a lot of "teen" jobs around here. The help wanted signs are everywhere. Satchel got a job easily this summer.

[Newman]

This is a cool rabbit hole!

Check this out.

From your link:



Your bit bolded.

Now a different link (here) with part of your bit bolded again:




That is fucking awesome!

Here's a headline I'm sure you'll find even awesomer: Nearly half of America doesn’t benefit from Dow 22,000

Of course, it's the WaPost. They keep buckets of cold water by each desk to throw on any good news they see coming in while Trump is president.

Here's one (of thousands) graph of the DOW long term. It shows the 1987 crash in perspective, shows the Reagan boom in perspective, and the more recent "malaise" -- to borrow Jimmy Carter's idea from a similarly malaised period -- in perspective.

I think "awesome" is a good word for it.

[80zephyr]

I delivered newspapers from the age of 11 to 15 and then I dropped that for a janitor job. But I was bicycling around town in the evening at 11 years old collecting cash from subscribers with a zippered money pouch under my arm. Looking back, that just seems insane to me now.

Nope. Actually, that was sanity. Its today that's fucked up.

Mark

[Norm dePlume]

Nope. Actually, that was sanity. Its today that's fucked up.

Mark

Even back then, even in small towns, kids occasionally were victims of bad people. And even back then, people paid bills by mailing checks. There was really no need to send adolescents out in the evening on a regular basis conspicuously transporting cash.

[Lady Marva]

Plenty of jobs for teenagers in grocery stores and the like.