If your teenager is looking for a job this summer, as mine is, brace yourself: The employment outlook for teens is among the gloomiest in decades.
This summer’s teen employment rate will match a 57-year low set in 2004 and 2005, predicts Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, based on an analysis of federal data released last week. Just 36.5% of 16- to 19-year-olds will be working, down from 37.1% in 2006 and 45% in 2000, he says, citing increased competition for part-time and temp jobs from older workers and immigrants.