ANDERSON – Like most teenagers, when Jaxon Pardue turned 16 he wanted a car – and the freedom that comes with it.
But his family didn’t have the funds to buy him one, so he took it into his own hands, and applied for a summer job at White River Paintball and Zip Lines. He already planned to spend a lot of his summer there anyway, so, he figured, he could have some fun and earn enough for a car payment at the same time.
“My family said so long as I got good grades, I could do whatever I wanted,” the now 17-year-old Pardue said. “When I turned 16, I wanted a job.”
It’s a story familiar to many people. As summer nears and teens are looking for something to do – and parents are looking for a way to keep them out of trouble – a summer job at a restaurant, landscape company or recreation center is a good way to pay for gas money or video games without having to beg for it.
But even as teen unemployment falls below 13 percent, a level not seen in more than two decades, fewer young people are even searching for summer employment.
For the past five years, the summer teen labor force participation rate, which means teenagers with or actively looking for a job, has held steady at 35 percent; falling far from rates as recent as 50 percent in 2001, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The latest projection of labor force participation from the BLS points toward an even lower teen participation rate by 2024, according to a 2017 report.
Historically, the rate has hovered between 50 and 60 percent, dipping during the Vietnam War era, as many young men joined the military services. Traditionally, teens held summer jobs even if they did not work during the school year, and labor force participation is higher during the summer than during the school year.
Even though some teenagers still have summer jobs, the proportion of those who participate in the labor force during the summer has dropped dramatically, according to BLS data. The summer break typically includes July and in July 2016, the teen labor force participation rate was 43.2 percent, down almost 30 percentage points from the high point of 71.8 percent in July 1978.
Several reasons cited
The reasons are legion, according to the report: an increased emphasis toward school and attending college among teens, reflected in higher enrollment; more summer school attendance; and more strenuous coursework. Parental emphasis on the rewards of education has contributed to the decline in teen labor force participation.
Of the myriad reasons, an increased focus on education and setting young people up for college through focusing more on good grades or extracurricular activities seems the most likely culprit for falling jobs numbers.
“Educators, parents, policymakers, and other stakeholders are paying more attention to the value of education,” reads another 2017 BLS report. “As stakeholders pay more attention to the value of education, teen school enrollment has continued to grow and labor force participation to decline.”
Though they allow him to work, good grades are first and foremost for Pardue’s parents.
If he hadn’t maintained the honor roll at Anderson High School, he likely wouldn’t be on track to go to Purdue University to study engineering – something far more important than a summer job.
But while a focus on education is likely pushing teenagers out of the workforce, some experts point to another issue – as unemployment falls among all age groups, and minimum wage rises, teens are more likely to be competing with more experienced adults for the types of jobs usually seen as entry level.
A recent Mercatus Center study, authored by economists David Neumark and Cortnie Shupe, identified higher minimum wages as the "predominant factor" in the decline in the teen labor force participation rate.
The economists studied the sharp decline in teen employment since 2000, writing: “a rising minimum wage (on the state and federal level) could have priced some teenagers out of the labor market.”
Rising wages have also pushed some businesses to replace expensive human laborers with automation – or simply removing the positions altogether.
National restaurant chain Red Robin announced earlier this year that the diner would eliminate all busboy positions at its 570 locations throughout the country. This follows the trend of other chains including Panera and McDonald's, which have replaced cashier jobs with self-service tablets.
Though teens are missing out on a paycheck when industries eliminate entry-level jobs, they’re also losing valuable work experience.
In a study from the Employment Policies Institute, economists Dr. Christopher Ruhm and Dr. Charles Baum from University of Virginia and Middle Tennessee State University, found that teenagers who held part-time jobs realized annual earnings that were roughly 7 percent higher compared to their fellow classmates who didn’t work as they grew.
But more than economic gains, for Justin Harmeson, 17, who works at White River Paintball and Zip Lines, his job has helped him to mature as well.
“It’s a fun experience, and we have our childish moments, but it matures you a lot,” Harmeson said.