More Teens Are Foregoing The Traditional Summer Job

Once a rite of passage, working a job through the summer months is giving way to internships, volunteering, and other unpaid activities.

By Michael MarksMay 25, 2017 11:11 am

With the sun crashing over the horizon earlier and earlier,.and school getting out for the summer, a seasonal ritual begins – getting that summer job. But what was a rite of passage seems to be changing. Not only are there fewer summer jobs available for teens – fewer teens are seeking employment, according to a report by Imani Moise, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal.

Moise says kids are busy – many of them just are not taking on paid employment.

“Teens are increasingly involved in school over the summer,” she says “and also they’re probably doing other enrichment activities, like volunteering, or maybe doing unpaid labor like internships, which wouldn’t be counted in the employment rate.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– Whether teens are better prepared for life by employment than by unpaid activities

– How the collapse of brick-and-mortar retail affects jobs for young people

– What impact lower teen employment may have on the workforce