Why Should Teenagers Be Employed?

Adolescents once upon a time spent their summers in the workforce. According to Rachel Greszler at The Daily Signal, 54% of 16-to 19-year-olds were in the workforce during summer break from school in 2000, but only 35% of youth in that age group were employed last summer. She claims that the drop in employed teens is “a big deal.” 

My only purpose in working as a teen was to earn as much money as possible. But I now realize the experience and life lessons those jobs provided were far more valuable. Low-wage, entry-level jobs provide the perfect opportunity for young people to learn the importance of key skills: showing up on time, getting along with co-workers, demonstrating respect and kindness toward customers who may lack both, and staying on task even when it is difficult or boring.

Learning these skills has long-run benefits. Multiple studies link part-time work during high school to higher future wages and occupational status, and more consistent employment.”

For example, Christopher Ruhm and Charles Baum, writing in the Southern Economic Journal, found that teens who held part-time jobs realized 7% higher future earnings than their peers who did not work. And researchers Jeremy Staff and Jeylan Mortimer found that teen employment is “a key formative experience, which establishes patterns of schooling and working that persist during the succeeding years.”

In today’s digital world, jobs that require teens to disconnect from screens and interact face to face mean more time engaged in the real world.

The Understanding America Study notes what many educators and employers already perceived a disturbing decline in conscientiousness among teens and young adults. Teen jobs help reverse what scholar Samuel J. Abrams describes as “the quiet unraveling of a trait that built civilization.”

Conscientiousness is generally associated with tendencies to be careful, disciplined, persistent and dependable. It’s one of the “Big Five” personality traits used in psychological testing and is associated with greater success in school, work and relationships, as well better physical, mental and financial well-being….

While more teen jobs are not a cure-all, they require – and teach – what teens are often missing.

But how can we get more teen jobs? The government can start by not raising the employment bar so high that inexperienced teens can’t reach it.

The recent plunge in teen employment occurred during the Great Recession, which coincided with dozens of state minimum wage hikes and a federal minimum wage increase. The teen unemployment rate hit a record 27.2% in 2009 and 2010 and remained above 20% for six straight years from 2008 to 2014. That lack of opportunities naturally led many teens to give up the notion of work, contributing to sustained low levels of teen employment.

Today, 10 states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages of $15 or more and multiple cities in Washington state mandate over $20 per hour. Most teenagers can’t create that much value right out of the gate.

Government mandates also force employers to provide health insurance, vacation, paid family leave and other costly benefits that can further dissuade employers from hiring teenagers, while restrictions on the types of jobs teens can perform and the hours they can work can also preclude their employment.

Policymakers should help make teen jobs great again by removing barriers that make it harder for teens to earn, learn and improve themselves.

I could even see that jobs would decrease for adolescents if minimum wage rates increased enough that adults would want the jobs. Most teenagers do not need health insurance, paid family leave, or other benefits because they live in homes where their parents provide those benefits. However, adults need benefits.

When wages were increased, then benefits had to follow simply because adults were taking the jobs which teenagers usually worked. By hiring adults for traditional teenage jobs, those adults are not encouraged to get training and/or education for better jobs, and teenagers do not have opportunities to gain skills and experience that will help them to become productive adults.