It Should Be Easier This Summer For Teens To Make Some Dough

As a teenager I never had trouble finding a job. Whether it was working at a pool or the short stint sorting bullets and folding uniform shirts at a police officer outfitting store (true story), I could always find some sort of work. But times have changed. With the struggling economy of the past few years, it has been more and more difficult for today’s teenagers to scrounge up work. However it looks like this summer, things may be looking up.

Overall job growth has been improving recently and this should positively affect the amount of summer jobs available for teens:

Managers who plan to hire hourly summer workers expect to add an average of 30 workers this year, up from 27 last year, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the job placement company Snagajob. The Ipsos survey of 1,005 seasonal hiring managers found that 68 percent plan to hire summer workers this year.

With teen unemployment increasing in the past few years, employers should have plenty of applicants to choose from:

The unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds was 25.1 percent in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That compares with 14.9 percent in February 2007. The nation officially went into recession in December 2007, and the weak recovery began in June 2009.

Teens may also be more appealing to employers because they, for the most part, will not require health benefits and can be paid less than someone with more experience.

So the next time your teenager complains about being bored or not having money you can tell them to get a job — people are hiring, and it will benefit them them later in life. I know mine did. Well maybe not the police store one but I did get some cool uniform patches for my backpack.

(photo: Lisa F. Young / Shutterstock)