Teenage Unemployment

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of January 2013, unemployment rates for teenagers is the highest at 23.4 percent and has shown very little change over the last year.

 Although our job market has improved slightly, millions of those who lost their jobs are young adults. This creates more competition for the teenage workers seeking summer jobs  or part-time work while in school.  There is even more competition if you did not complete high school or have a criminal record.

According to the Huffington Post  only one in four U.S. teenagers held a job in 2011, which is half of what is was in 1999-2000.

Early work experience or consistent volunteer work will help younger workers be more competitive in this fierce job market. Teenagers should strongly consider volunteering at businesses that may be able to higher them later when they reach legal work age. This will help them establish good work ethics and reputation with hiring management.  There are also teen employment websites that provide job postings for teenagers like Teens4Hire.

Parents, encourage your teens to begin thinking about their financial future now. Work experience will not only help build character and responsibility today, it will be another edge they can use for college applications tomorrow.

Dr. Dee Carter February16, 2013