Crain's editorial: The summer job is back
June 05, 2023 05:45 AM "What are you doing this summer?"
If you're someone who's established in life, your thoughts when asked that question might turn to vacation plans, or a strategy for home renovations.
But if you're a high school or college student, and especially a new graduate at either level, the question might provoke some anxiety about a basic subject: short-term work prospects and longer-term career goals.
Fortunately, summer 2023 is shaping up as the best season for work in a few years. The summer job, after a down period, is back.
The Associated Press noted, for instance, that the still-tight labor market "is increasing demand for teenage workers and boosting their wages to higher-than-usual levels as many teens look for jobs during their summer breaks." As a result, the proportion of Americans between the ages of 16 and 19 who have jobs "has trended up in recent years, as nearly 34% of Americans in that age group had jobs in April compared to 30% in 2019, the last pre-pandemic summer, according to government data."
Jobs generally remain hot, even as the economy looks a little iffy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, June 2, that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 339,000 in May, well above estimates, and that job creation in March and April was revised up by a total of 93,000.
More numbers: Average hourly earnings have risen at a 4% percent annual rate over the last three months, and a 3.9% rate over the last six months. Hourly pay has trended up even higher, around 5%, in industries that typically employ teens, such as retailers and amusement parks. There are, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, about 1.6 jobs open for every person that is unemployed. Getting past the pandemic is helping.
Of course, there's no guarantee that the good times on the labor front will keep rolling, and for some industries — think tech and finance, in particular — things are already tough. But for teens and young people looking to work this summer, opportunities abound.
Craig Dorn, president & CEO of Youth Opportunities Unlimited, a Cleveland nonprofit focused on workforce development for teens and young adults, recently told cleveland.com, "The youth are back with a vengeance with a desire to work during the summer," noting that the organization also is seeing increased interest from employers in students across the board. Two big traditional summer employers of young people, Cedar Fair and Cleveland Metroparks, also report greater success in finding young workers, though the Ohio Restaurant Association says its members still face some challenges.
The strong jobs market for new workers is good for everyone. Companies in many industries still need workers, and having a more plentiful workforce of young people is a good answer to that problem. And young people benefit from learning the value of work at an early age. It instills discipline that is valuable when they hit the workforce full time, and gives them an opportunity to start making and saving money to put them on a stronger life path for success.
Summer work by your teen creates teachable moments. The Ohio Department of Commerce suggests, for instance, that as your teen begins earning money, you should spend time talking with them about handling it responsibly — and showing how you do the same. "Kids, including teens, model adult behavior, and what better way to set the tone than to implement healthy financial habits right before their eyes," the department says.
Another solid piece of advice from the department: If your kids ask questions you can't answer, or if you're looking for more information about a financial concept, ask them to help you look for information and talk about it together. "This is where you can open their eyes to basic budgeting and saving techniques," it notes.
Ohio is among several states where legislators are considering proposals to relax child labor laws to address worker shortages. The current evidence suggests that the market might be working itself out, as it tends to do over time, but we're open to a responsible easing of some of the current standards to make work more available to more young people.
Final thought: Anyone who's in a position to hire a young person this summer would be doing a valuable service to make the hire, whether it's a seasonal position or helping someone get started in a new career. It works out for all in the long run.