Powell tells students to be optimistic about the U.S. job market and AI
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Harvard Economics students on Monday (March 30) that he is optimistic about the medium- to long-term employment prospects for U.S. college graduates, despite the current period of very low job creation because the U.S. economy is the most dynamic and productive in the world.
School is out for most teens across the country, and those looking to find summer work may have a hard time finding one.
Last summer, employment among teenagers fell to its lowest level in nearly 80 years, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and forecasters predict it could fall even further this summer. The Challenger, Gray & Christmas report predicts that U.S. teenagers will gain 790,000 jobs in May, June and July, down from 801,000 jobs last summer.
The number of employed 16- to 19-year-olds last month was 5.193 million, down from 5.487 million in April of last year, according to BLS data.
“The path to a strong summer is narrower than in recent years, as fewer teens are already on the payroll heading into the busiest recruiting period,” the report said.
Why are teenage employment expectations low?
Teenagers, like adult job seekers, face the same challenges of underemployment. U.S. employers added well over 100,000 jobs in March and April, but hiring remains concentrated in a few sectors such as health care and social assistance, industries not generally known for hiring high school students.
Several factors contribute to this low adoption environment. The Challenger report points out that inflation and rising oil prices are driving up costs for businesses. Self-checkout and automation to replace cashier and customer service roles. Competition from older workers for similar jobs. And the labor force participation rate among teenagers is low.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the rate was nearly 50%, but now it’s 33.8% as teens pursue sports, academics and other summer opportunities instead, according to the report.
Brad Sugars, business coach and founder of ActionCOACH, added that as entry-level opportunities for recent graduates dwindle, teenagers are also competing with them.
“People who were supposed to be coming out of college and going into full-time jobs are now going back to the part-time market,” Sugars said.
How do broader economic trends affect teen employment?
Corey Cantenga, LinkedIn’s head of economics for the Americas, explained how the high prices consumers are seeing at gas stations can impact a teenager’s ability to get a job at a local grocery store.
“We need to pick up new deliveries of bread, fruit and vegetables, and to pick up those deliveries we often have to drive in our trucks,” he said. As fuel prices rise, companies have to make up for higher shipping costs somewhere. “Where do people cut back? They cut back in areas where they feel they can have a little more flexibility, and that’s often younger workers.”
And companies are battling more than just rising input costs.
“Everything in the economy is connected to everything else,” said Corey Stahl, senior economist at Indeed, adding that if people spend more on gas, they might spend less at their local ice cream shop. “As a company, you’re going to look at this and say, ‘That’s very concerning. I don’t know if we should be hiring in the same capacity.'”
Are there still employment opportunities for teens?
Employment trends vary by region, and teens may find more opportunities in a tighter labor market. There are some positive signs nationally.
Demand for lifeguards is increasing on employment platforms amid a long-standing national labor shortage. Kantenga said there appears to be a strong demand for shelf stockists, camp counselors, restaurant hosts and servers this year as well.
“I think there are still opportunities in the retail and hospitality sectors,” Kantenga said. “They’ll be a little more targeted, so it’s important to know that ‘you may not necessarily get a summer assistant manager training role, but that host role may still be available.’
The Challenger report included some tips for teens looking to land summer roles. June is the most popular month for hiring teenagers, so she advises starting your search now, asking friends and family for opportunities, maintaining an online presence, and polishing up your resume.
“(College) graduates who listed some work experience on their resume were more than twice as likely to get a job within three months of graduation than their peers who didn’t,” said Nicole Bashaw, an economist at ZipRecruiter, adding that even first-time job seekers should highlight their work history. “Whether it’s a babysitting job, organizing a neighborhood garage sale, or anything that really shows organizational and communication skills, those are skills that employers are really looking for.”
Contact Rachel Barber at rbarber@usatoday.com, follow her at X @rachelbarber_ and subscribe to her newsletter Making More of Your Money here.
