Posted on 05/17/2010 5:08:38 AM PDT by Bad~Rodeo
The share of U.S.-born teenagers (16 to 19) in the labor force — working or looking for work — during the summer has been declining for more than a decade, long before the current recession. In 1994, nearly two-thirds of U.S.-born teenagers were in the summer labor force; by 2007 it was less than half. At the same time, the overall number of immigrants (legal and illegal) holding a job doubled. The evidence indicates that immigration accounts for a significant share of the decline in teen labor force participation. The decline in teen work is worrisome because research shows that those who do not hold jobs as teenagers often fail to develop the work habits necessary to function in the labor market, creating significant negative consequences for them later in life.
Among the findings:
•The summer of 2009 was the worst summer ever experienced by U.S.-born teenagers (16-19) since citizenship data was first collected in 1994. Just 45 percent were in the labor force, which means they worked or were looking for work. Only one-third actually held a job.
•Even before the current recession, the summer labor force participation of U.S.-born teenagers was deteriorating. Between the summers of 1994 and 2000, a period of significant economic expansion, the labor force participation of U.S.-born teens actually declined from 64 percent to 61 percent.
•After 2000, the summer labor force participation of U.S.-born teenagers declined from 61 percent to 48 percent by 2007. Thus even before the current recession fewer teens were in the labor force.
•Teen unemployment — the share looking for a job — has also tended to rise somewhat over time. But the big decline has been in the share of teenagers who are looking for work.
•The number of U.S.-born teenagers not in the labor force increased from 4.7 million in 1994 to 8.1 million in 2007. In the summer of 2009 it stood at 8.8 million.
•The severity of the decline is similar for U.S.-born black, Hispanic, and white teens. Between 1994 and 2007 the summer labor force participation of black teens declined from 50 to 35 percent; for Hispanic teens from 52 to 37 percent; and for whites it declined 69 to 55 percent.
•The fall-off is also similar for U.S.-born teenagers from both high- and low-income households.
•Immigrants and teenagers often do the same kind of work. In the summer of 2007, in the 10 occupations employing the most U.S.-born teenagers, one in five workers was an immigrant.
•Between 1994 and 2007, in occupations where teenage employment declined the most, immigrants made significant job gains.
•Comparisons across states in 2007 show that in the 10 states where immigrants are the largest share of workers, just 45 percent of U.S.-born teens were in the summer labor force, compared to 58 percent in the 10 states where immigrants are the smallest share of workers
. •Looking at change over time shows that in the 10 states where immigrants increased the most as a share of workers, labor force participation of U.S.-born teenagers declined 17 percentage points. In the 10 states where immigrants increased the least, teen labor force participation declined 9 percent.
•We also find that, on average, a 10 percentage-point increase in the immigrant share of a state’s work force from 1994 to 2007 reduced the labor force participation rate of U.S.-born teenagers by 7.9 percentage points.
•The most likely reason immigrants displace U.S.-born teenagers is that the vast majority of immigrants are fully developed adults — relatively few people migrate before age 20. This gives immigrants a significant advantage over U.S.-born teenagers who typically have much less work experience.
•The labor force participation of immigrant teenagers has also declined, though it was low even in the early 1990s. This along with the similar decline for U.S.-born teens from all racial and income backgrounds supports the idea that the arrival of so many adult immigrants, who work at the kinds of jobs traditionally done by teenagers, crowds all teenagers out of the labor force, both U.S.-born and foreign-born.
•Summer is the focus of this report; however, the decline in the employment of U.S.-born teenagers is year-round, including a decline during the other peak period of seasonal employment at Christmas.
•Although there is good evidence that immigration is reducing teenage labor market participation, other factors have likely also contributed...(rest of report at http://cis.org/teen-unemployment
My fourteen year old requested that we allow him to get a summer job. His school is in session till the middle of June and starts near the end of August. Most summer employers want people to work from May till late September thus making summer employment for U.S. teens close to impossible. I do think that some teens are spoiled; however, many want to work and schools have made that impossible. I won’t even get into the fact that in Maryland teens have to fulfill 75 hours of “volunteer” work in order to graduate high school. So, guess what my 14 year old is doing this summer? Yep, “working” for free in order to graduate high school
I doubt they even detassel corn any more because most of it is GM now. It was Pioneer Hybrid Seed Company, still in business, I see. Maybe they're not GM. It was gruelling, hot, messy work whether you walked the rows or rode the machines. It only lasted about 3 weeks or so, and I doubt I could have done it year round although most crop work is seasonal unless you're a farmer and have to feed animals.
I amazes me how many jobs that used to be pretty much exclusively staffed by teens are now held by older adults.
If you're well off, then those college scholarships won't come easy, acedemic or not. My experience has been that even the acedemic scholarships are somewhat based on parents income.
My son just passed the Bar on his first try and my daughter is working full time for a large company and is a 3rd year law student. They both have a great work ethic!
My brothers de-tasseled corn one summer. My city slicker Aunt that moved to the country thought that was the thing to do, so she de-tasseled her sweet corn.
I disagree. Teens working in their summer breaks provides many benefits. The do learn work ethics, they earn their own money and learn it's value from having to work for it. It keeps them off the streets and busy. Those who used to work on farms during the summer were physically more fit than those who didn't work. Those who work at places like McDonalds learn to deal with people, bosses and time schedules.
Learning those things after they are grown does not serve anyone well.
Because two generations after this happened in 3rd century Roman Empire, the barbarians sacked Rome while being invited as liberators by their 2nd and 3rd cousins who were “Roman citizens bound to serfdom throughout the Italian peninsula.
The reason that immigrants are taking these low skill jobs is because they don’t have the awesome self-esteem that our kids have. /s
If you are close to a metro area, go to “Craigslist- (blank city)” for that area..... Lot’s of jobs, nuth’n fancy - but in these times?
Both of my kids worked at McDonalds when they were 16 (my daughter was only 15) and I think it taught them wonderful lessons that a classroom never would.
I had a friend who was a recruiter who told me that one of his major headaches was dealing with fresh college grads who came from well-do-do, upper-middle class backgrounds where they did not have to work as teenagers. They popped out of elite universities with degrees, never having worked a day in their life, even at McDonalds. He would have to look them in the eye and tell them “I’m sorry, I can’t do anything for you”. (at which point the advanced sense of self-esteem would take over and they would begin venting abuse at him).
Because the older adults are working the only jobs they can get after being laid off.
You make young adults wait years past when they WANT to do certain things, until they have lost all interest in doing them.
Most young adults WANT to get married when the are 14-16, but by their early 20’s have little to no interest in it anymore. Young children as young as 3 or 4 LOVE to work and help, but parents wont allow them. By the time they are in their early 20’s and told to go make their way in the world, they have no interest whatsoever in work, just eternal childhood.
The report is clear about the impact of a part-time job on our youth. Not only does it prepare the work habits necessary for later employment, it also is the beginning of their resume, another avenue to later employment.
I’m betting that lack of employment, and the boredom that comes along with empty days, contributes to teen use of chemicals (alcohol or drugs) simply because of available time and resources.
As you suggest, it contributes to a “give to me” attitude, and that would lead to a greater likelihood to consider taking government handouts.
Get illegals out of our employment market. There is NOTHING good about illegal immigration.
That's only one and there are tons of scholarships out there.
I’ve already told my kids that when they turn 16, if they can’t pay for their car insurance, no car.
True, but produce and meat were cheap. It was good while it lasted.
Actually I was amazed on how liberal the child labor laws are in my state (Iowa). I did not realize a 14 year old could work in as many occupations as the state allows. A bigger restriction is the employers (many will not look at anyone under 16).
In all honesty I think it is wise and prudent to limit occupations for younger workers. I would not feel comfortable with my 14 year old handling industrial equipment or chemicals with some doofus 20 something explaining the process to her.
Also, her primary occupation right now is school. She already works very hard in her classes to get As. In addition she needs to start doing those extra things which increase her chances of getting scholarships down the line (as well as medical/vet/other professional school entry). Many of those things involve volunteering in hospitals etc (it is how the game is played).
I think waiting until your early 20s for marriage is a wise thing myself. My children have had a much better life full of more opportunities than I did when my parents got married in their teens. Also by delaying marriage until I completed my engineering degree, I feel I have accomplished my goals more readily than getting married in my teens.
. You hit the nail on the head. I suspect there is a cause and effect because of Social Security 'Totalization'Agreement with Mexico. Please follow the link
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/back904.html
Far from being unlimited, they are limited and the cut line for Semis is changed every year because of the limit. In our good larger High School, we only had two Finalists out of over 300 graduates last year. Most good (but not the very top) kids in Iowa do not get scholarships to public universities. In general to get any sort of serious scholarship/grant money (unless you are poor or a underrepresented class) you need a 4.0 GPA and a 30 on the ACT. Anything less - forget it. My bosses daughter did both, had a bunch of extracurriculars, and went into an underrepresented major (Engineering) and she still did not get the full ride scholarship to a state school. She did get the next level though ($5K/yr). She graduated with over 10 kids with 4.0s (and these are kids in dual enroll college classes, AP classes, Honors classes throughout).
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