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SALT LAKE CITY — Cashier, lifeguard, fast food worker — all typical teen summer jobs. But a national report says they are going unfilled by teenagers.
More teens 16 to 19 years old are in school instead of working and are four times as likely to be in summer school now than in 1985, according to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But Utah officials say there are plenty of opportunities in the state for teens right now. In fact, the number of teens employed in Utah is ticking back up since the recession.
Cory Staley, Utah Department of Workforce Services regional economist, said local employers are looking for any and all workers and there are plenty of opportunities that offer on the job training, too.
“Because with the economy turning around and employers looking for people, there’s a lot of opportunity to get a job you are looking for,” Staley said.
During the recession, teens had to compete with adults for the same jobs and employers could be picky.
Prior to the recession, about 7 percent of the jobs in the state were occupied by youth in the summer. It was 3.2 percent in 2011, but rebounded to 4.1 percent in the latest numbers from 2015, Staley said.
“So we’ve actually seen a slight increase of that number going back up, as a lot of the youth and workers in general in Utah have seen these opportunities,” he said.
Employers now are more willing to hire and offer on-the-job training for youth and those with less experience, according to Staley.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports in July 2016, the teen labor force participation rate was 43.2 percent. The high was 71.8 percent in July 1978.
They found that more teens are in summer school instead to get ready for college or get ahead in college. Or, if they are working, it’s an unpaid internship or something off the radar like babysitting or lawn mowing.
For more information on employment in Utah, visit www.jobs.utah.gov.
