Teen Workers: A Snapshot

As anyone who has bought groceries, ordered fast food, or shopped at a retail store can attest, teens are an important source of labor in many sectors of the U.S. economy. Although well over half of teens report having held some type of job by age 14, the majority performed only "freelance" jobs like babysitting and lawn mowing. Starting at age 15, however, an increasing number of teens take on jobs as regular employees. During any given school week between 1996 and 1998, almost 3 million 15- to 17-year- olds had jobs, while about 4 million teens are employed during the summer months.

The number of hours that teens work also rises with age, although precise estimates vary. According to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, 12 percent of ninth-graders work 15 hours or more per week. This proportion jumps to 42 percent in the eleventh grade. By senior year, a whopping 56 percent of all students are juggling schoolwork with a 15-hour-plus workweek, and almost a quarter are working 30 hours or more. Minority and low-income teens are less likely to be employed than white teens and those from middle- and high-income families. But employed African American and Hispanic teens are likely to work longer hours.

Such part-time employment is not a new phenomenon, particularly for teenage boys. More than a quarter of 16- and 17-year-old males who attended school in 1947 were also members of the labor force, note psychology professors Ellen Greenberger and Laurence Steinberg. Today about 60 percent of all working teens work in retail stores and restaurants. Eating and drinking establishments make up the lion's share of employment, followed by grocery and department stores. Just under one-quarter are employed in the service sector, including entertainment, recreation, domestic labor, and health care. The remainder are distributed among agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and other industries. Minority teens are more likely than whites to hold service sector jobs; teens from low-income families are disproportionately likely to work in agriculture, manufacturing, and construction.

The typical working teen does not earn vast sums. More than half earned under $2,000 per year in 1997-98. Almost one-third earned between $2,000 and $5,000 per year, and only a small group (under 10 percent) earned more than $5,000. Like Emily Payet, the majority cite the desire for spending money as their primary reason for working-not the need to support themselves or supplement family income. In a study conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, more than three-fourths of teens said "spending money" was the chief motivation. In contrast, 26 percent indicated that they worked "to support themselves," and 19 percent said they contributed part of their earnings to family expenses. (That most working teens come from middle-class homes could partly explain such findings.) As Irene Brand, the teen employed at the New England Aquarium noted, "If I am working for the money, I'll spend it the way I want." Most of teens' earnings appear to go to their own expenses, such as clothing and entertainment, according to a recent study published by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 1010