In 2010, the latest year for which numbers are available, less than half of the nations youths were employed during the month of July, traditionally the peak of summer employment, the lowest percentage since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started collecting data in 1948 and almost 20 points lower than the peak in 1989. Theres little indication of that number improving. Teenagers and 20-somethings are the least skilled and most expendable members of the workforce, so its not surprising that they would be edged out in a recession by more reliable full-time workers such as senior citizens, immigrants and other adults who need those jobs.
But other long-term factors are at play. Life is more competitive than ever before, and kids or perhaps their parents worry about wasting time on jobs that wont yield career dividends. On Harvards campus, where I work, students feel crushing pressure to build their rsums the instant they arrive, eschewing unskilled summer jobs for unpaid internships with nonprofit organizations, political campaigns and research labs. Others spend the summer studying foreign languages or preparing for grueling graduate-admissions exams.
The same pattern is found at the secondary-school level, where teen employment has been on a downward trend since 2000. Tougher graduation standards have created a threefold increase in summer-school attendance over the past 20 years. And students feel the need to pad their college applications with unique life experiences as the admissions process has grown more selective. High schools also now routinely require public service surely a good thing that can further limit the available hours to work for pay.
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