Teen Employment Off To Strong Start This Summer
Teen summer employment got off to its strongest start since 2006, as the number of 16- to 19-year-olds with jobs grew by nearly 160,000 in May, according to an analysis of the latest Labor Department figures by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Last month’s employment gains among teens were more than double the 71,000 jobs won by 16- to 19-year-olds in May 2011. In its annual teen summer employment outlook, Challenger forecast that 2012 should see some improvement over 2011, when employment among teens grew by 1,087,000, a 13-percent increase from 2010, which saw the smallest teen job gains since 1949. In 2010, employers added just 6,000 teens to their payrolls in May, which is the first month of the teen summer hiring season that continues through June and July. While the job situation for teens appears to be improving, why are a growing number of teens abandoning the summer job market? Is it too late for teenagers to find work now? What can teenagers do to improve their chances of finding employment this summer?
| Year |
May |
June |
July |
Summer Jobs Gained |
Change from Prior Year |
| 1998 |
270,000 |
1,058,000 |
675,000 |
2,003,000 |
|
| 1999 |
415,000 |
750,000 |
852,000 |
2,017,000 |
0.7% |
| 2000 |
111,000 |
1,087,000 |
311,000 |
1,509,000 |
-25.2% |
| 2001 |
58,000 |
1,124,000 |
560,000 |
1,742,000 |
15.4% |
| 2002 |
161,000 |
985,000 |
510,000 |
1,656,000 |
-4.9% |
| 2003 |
152,000 |
859,000 |
458,000 |
1,469,000 |
-11.3% |
| 2004 |
168,000 |
827,000 |
597,000 |
1,592,000 |
8.4% |
| 2005 |
183,000 |
1,007,000 |
546,000 |
1,736,000 |
9.0% |
| 2006 |
230,000 |
1,033,000 |
471,000 |
1,734,000 |
-0.1% |
| 2007 |
62,000 |
1,114,000 |
459,000 |
1,635,000 |
-5.7% |
| 2008 |
116,000 |
683,000 |
355,000 |
1,154,000 |
-29.4% |
| 2009 |
111,000 |
698,000 |
354,000 |
1,163,000 |
0.8% |
| 2010 |
6,000 |
497,000 |
457,000 |
960,000 |
-17.5% |
| 2011 |
71,000 |
714,000 |
302,000 |
1,087,000 |
13.2% |
| 2012 |
157,000 |
|
|
|
