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Why American Teens Aren't Working Summer Jobs Anymore
Several forces in the economy explain the shift
Jack Hernandez, 18 right, and Kuangkye Oo, 17 and left, fill out an application at The Summer Youth Jobs & Training Expo 2012 held in the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Photographer: Matthew StaverThis article is for subscribers only.
This was supposed to be a better year for teenagers to land summer jobs, and July has always been the peak month for such positions. Things haven't worked out that way, according to the Labor Department's latest jobs report.
On an unadjusted basis — which is probably fairer given the question is seasonal jobs — there was a 1.2 million increase in teen employment last month compared with the average for the school months of January through May. That was close to last year's tally, yet well below all but two years since the 1950s.