Teen Summer Job Market May Be the Worst Since 1951
David Sessions
Washington Reporter
Posted:
07/12/10
Americans aged 16 to 19 face the toughest employment situation since the 1950s, according to job statistics released July 2 by the Department of Labor and analysis by employment experts, AOL's Daily Finance reports.
The government's June employment statistics revealed that non-farm payrolls decreased by 125,000 jobs even as the U.S. employment rate inched downward to 9.5 percent.
The unemployment rate for teenagers, however, is triple that: 29 percent, according to non-seasonally adjusted numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And in June, teen job growth sank to its lowest level since 1951, according to analysis by employment-services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Teen employment grew by just 497,000 jobs in June, down 29 percent from the same month last year, when it grew by 698,000. For the year overall, teen employment has grown 38 percent less than it did in just May and June of 2009.
"This could end up being the worst teen summer job market in employment records going back to 1948," says Challenger CEO John A. Challenger. "With data now suggesting that consumers are pulling back on spending, it is unlikely that a late hiring surge will salvage the dismal summer job situation for the nation's youngest workers."
The government's June employment statistics revealed that non-farm payrolls decreased by 125,000 jobs even as the U.S. employment rate inched downward to 9.5 percent.
The unemployment rate for teenagers, however, is triple that: 29 percent, according to non-seasonally adjusted numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And in June, teen job growth sank to its lowest level since 1951, according to analysis by employment-services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Teen employment grew by just 497,000 jobs in June, down 29 percent from the same month last year, when it grew by 698,000. For the year overall, teen employment has grown 38 percent less than it did in just May and June of 2009.
"This could end up being the worst teen summer job market in employment records going back to 1948," says Challenger CEO John A. Challenger. "With data now suggesting that consumers are pulling back on spending, it is unlikely that a late hiring surge will salvage the dismal summer job situation for the nation's youngest workers."