America's teens are no longer working at the rate of their parents, as the recession-driven collapse in the teen workforce has collided with new priorities for our nation's youth, according to a new Pew Research Center report.
Driving the data, per Pew's Drew DeSilver:
- "Fewer low-skill, entry-level jobs (such as sales clerks or office assistants) than in decades past."
- "More schools ending in late June and restarting before Labor Day."
- "More students enrolled in high school or college over the summer."
- "More teens doing unpaid community service work as part of their graduation requirements or to burnish their college applications."
- "More students taking unpaid internships, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t count as being employed."
Where they're working: Almost 2.1 million of the estimated 6.2 million teens who were employed last July worked in "accommodation and food services," compared with 1.9 million in July 2000.
Where they're not: Roughly 1.3 million teens worked in the retail sector last July, compared with more than 2 million in July 2000.