Released: July 09, 2007

More than half of teens forgo summer jobs

Source: Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA Today

Most U.S. teenagers were not working or looking for work at the beginning of the summer for the first time on record, suggesting teens are forgoing the traditional summertime work at ice cream stands, camps and pools.

Only 48.8% of teens ages 16 to 19 were working or looking for work in June, the Labor Department said Friday. That was down from 51.6% in June 2006 and below the 60.2% in the labor force in June 2000.

Labor force participation among teens in June peaked in 1978, when 67.7% of Americans ages 16 to 19 were working or looking for work. Data have been collected since 1948.

But the decline doesn’t mean students are idle. Perhaps the biggest reason teens are bypassing work is to spend more time studying, even during the summer ...

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