Why Can’t Johnny Find A Summmer Job? Blame Grandma!

Summer is here junior, get a job!  Only maybe you can’t.  It used to be that working as a lifeguard or a camp counselor was once a summer job rite of passage for American teens, but that might not be the case anymore.

J.P. Morgan Chase surveyed 15 summer youth programs in major American cities and found that demand for jobs continues to outpace available job openings. So why the drop off in jobs for teens?

The answer is at the other end of the chronology scale! Researchers say employers have the opportunity to hire older, more skilled workers as they continue to return to the job market following the recession, and so they choose to hire these seniors with experience over first time teens.

Only about four out of ten teens and young adults who are looking for summer jobs were able to find work through 18 summer employment programs in the 15 cities surveyed.

Researchers say what you dad said to you and what you’ll say to your kid – a summer job can help a teen make a little extra money, but it also helps him or her gain important skills for their careers and help ease them into full-time work once they've graduated. (CBS News)