Summer job market tight for teens

New Orleans CityBusiness, Jun 11, 2007

It's summertime but the living isn't easy for teens. With gas prices near record levels and costly college tuition looming, teens are pounding the pavement to find employment.

According to the 2007 JA Worldwide "Teens and Summer Jobs Interprise Poll," 73.4 percent of teens surveyed to work this summer. Only 43.6 percent of teens responding to this poll were employed last summer.

The top two reasons why teens plan to work are "extra spending money" (29.5 percent), and "saving for college" (28.9 percent). Girls indicated paying for college is the top reason they plan to work (31.8 percent), continuing a three-year trend. For boys, extra spending money is the primary motivation (32.8 percent) for getting a summer job.

Among teens 17 and older, saving for college is the primary motivation for working: 31.6 percent of 17-year-olds, and 40.9 percent of teens 18- and 19-year-olds reported saving for college as the No. 1 reason for working. More than one-third (34.2 percent) of teens who plan to work this summer indicated they will seek retail or restaurant jobs.

The JA Worldwide poll indicated teens are getting more from their jobs than just a paycheck. When asked to select "lessons learned" from their summer jobs, 38.2 percent of teens perceived the most important was "responsibility." "How to demonstrate leadership" (23.4 percent) was second, followed by the "importance of teamwork" (18.2 percent).

Nearly three-quarters - 72.8 percent - perceived their bosses as career mentors.

"Working during the summer - whether in an entry-level position, babysitting, or providing lawn care services-reinforces the concepts taught by JA Worldwide programs: the importance of punctuality, teamwork, and a good work ethic," said Darrell Luzzo, senior vice president of education and strategic partnerships at JA Worldwide. "Additionally, teens benefit from receiving career mentoring from their bosses, which helps create a generation of work-ready employees who understand the importance of strong interpersonal skills and who are ready to actively contribute in the workplace."

This is the eighth "JA Worldwide Teens and Summer Jobs" poll and 818 students voluntarily participated. The poll was administered online between March and April. Because respondents were not randomly selected, no margin of error for this report can be calculated. The survey results cannot be represented as a scientific cross section of American students between the ages of 13 and 18 .