Cause and Effect - Teenage Employment

Recession : Teenage Employment In recent years, the economic recession has taken a toll in our economy affecting both rich and poor families. High School students are having a difficult time finding a job as well. The oil prices are skyrocketing, home sales plummeting, retail stores falling, driving more teenagers than usual to look for employment. In the past, teenagers had a choice to work part-time or enjoying leisure time while receiving weekly allowances. Since most parents either lost their jobs or received pay-cuts from employers, their teen children are affected as well. In order to recover the necessities they once had, they must find a job. “It is impossible to quantify how many affluent parents have trimmed allowances in recent months…But interviews with dozens teenagers, parents, educators, and employers suggest that many youngsters from well-to-do families seem to have found a new work ethic as the economic crisis that has jeopardized their parents’ jobs and invenstments..”(Foderaro 977). Survey shows that more than two-thirds of teenagers in the United States hold part-time jobs. While teenagers seek employment during this tough market, they will soon contribute to their family, become financially responsible, and as well acquire skills for the future. According to the U.S. Department of Labor figures released in August, 2008, that the unemployment rate for working-age teens rose to 20 percent, nearly four times the overall 5.7 percent unemployment rate. This shows a domino effect in during the recession when people are losing their jobs, they will start budgeting and shop less, retailers will shortly go out of business and more jobs will be lost. Foderaro stated in her article, “The Well-to-Do Get Less So, and Teenagers Feel the Crunch,” to the teenage employment problem, older workers are going after traditional teen jobs in retail and food services increasing the teen unemployment rate. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics; teenagers in

Cited: Foderaro, Lisa. “The Well-to-Do Get Less So, and Teenagers Feel the Crunch.” The Chronicle of Higher Education 2004. Rpt. in Everything’s an Argument. 5th ed. Andrea A. Lunsford, John J. Ruszkiewicz, and KeithWalters. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin‟s, 2010. 977-70. Print. Stern, David.”Learning and Earning: The Value of Working for urban Students.” ERIC/CUE DIGEST Nov. 1997. 19 April 2000 . Wirtz, Ronald A. "OMG! Like, Where Are All the Teen Workers? - Fedgazette - Publications & Papers." The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. 2 Sept. 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. .