Christian Science Monitor: Why teens have a tough time finding summer work
Many are enrolling in summer classes or doing community service while others are squeezed out by adults competing for the same entry-level jobs.
Boston – This summer is shaping up as a tough one for many of America's youngest job seekers.
Camps still need counselors. Ice cream shops still need young arms with a knack for alternating between a scoop and a cash register. And the nation's job market is strong.
Yet teen employment rates haven't rebounded from the recession of 2001. Instead, these numbers are at historic lows.
The reasons include positive forces, such as the rise of new opportunities for summer education and community service. But the trend also reflects more competition from older workers for a shrinking pool of entry-level jobs.
In Boston, 17-year-old Dedric Due says he's scanning the newspaper ads for a job, and so far hasn't found one. With a self-confident bearing, he says he'd like to be an assistant music teacher. But just about anything
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But some economists who study the teen labor market say jobs are also scarcer than in past years, affecting young people of all backgrounds. Finding work remains much harder for young black, Latino, and Asian-Americans than for their white peers.
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