By Regional Economist Kathryn Tacke
Idaho Department of Labor
In the summer of 2017, thousands of Idaho teens
took jobs. But the percentage of teens
participating in the labor force remains far
below its level in earlier decades. In Idaho,
just as nationwide, there’s been a long-term
decline in teen participation. Does that decline
matter?
Summer jobs in Idaho typically peak in July. In
the past four summers, Idaho employers added an
average 12,600 jobs between April and July. Only
one sector usually decreases employment between
April and July – education. Between 2014 and
2017, it lost an average of 8,500 jobs between
those months.
The sectors that typically add the most summer
jobs are leisure and hospitality — restaurants,
hotels and recreational facilities; federal
agencies — the Forest Service and Bureau of Land
Management; retail — especially gas stations,
convenience stores and specialty stores serving
tourists; and wholesale — especially those
serving the construction, forestry and
agricultural industries.
Many of those jobs are taken by teens.
Between the second and third quarters of 2016,
the number of 14- to 18-year-olds on Idaho
payrolls grew from 18,531 to 26,069, according
to the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Workforce
Indicators.
Teen employment has risen after the recession.
At the lowest point, in 2011, Idaho employers
provided jobs to 13,653 teens 14 to 18 years
old. By 2016, that number had risen to 21,242,
according to the Census Bureau’s Quarterly
Workforce Indicators.
Despite the rise in employment, teen
participation remains far below its
pre-recession level. By 2015, the labor force
participation rate for Idaho teens was 47
percent, up from a low of 41 percent in 2010,
considerably below its 2005 level of 56 percent,
according to data from the Census Bureau’s
American Community Survey.
Before the mid-1970s, far fewer teen girls
worked than did boys. Today, female teens
participate at a higher rate than their male
counterparts.
Nationwide, teen’s labor force participation
rates followed a similar pattern. In July 1978,
the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the 16-
to 17-year-old labor force participation rate
peaked at 64.4 percent. Before the recession, in
July 2007, it was 38 percent.
This July, it was 31.1 percent.
Economists at the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) have studied why teens are
working less than they did in the past. They
found a large increase in teens as full-time
students with more going on for education after
high school and focusing on school work while
preparing for higher education.
“More teens attend school during the summer now
than in previous years. The proportion of
teenagers enrolled in July 2016 was more than
four times higher than it was in July 1985 —
42.1 percent versus 10.4 percent,” according to
a BLS report.
High school students are taking tougher classes
— advanced placement, higher math and more
science. In many cases, parents encourage their
teenage children to participate more in
extracurricular activities that might lead to
scholarships or increased interest from elite
colleges rather than get jobs. Other students
seek out experiences that don’t involve paid
jobs including volunteering, unpaid internships
or traveling. In addition, more students are
taking unpaid internships.
As in the nation, a higher proportion of Idaho
teens are in school now, and of those in school,
a smaller proportion are working.
About 83 percent of Idahoans aged 16 to 19 years
were enrolled in school — including high
schools, colleges and technical schools — in
2015, according to the Census Bureau’s American
Community Survey. In the 2000 Census, 78 percent
of young Idahoans were enrolled in school. Of
the young Idahoans enrolled in school, 41
percent participated in the labor force in 2016.
That’s considerably lower than the 49 percent
reported in the 2000 Census.
Consequences of Lower Teen Employment:
• Spending: With fewer teens working, they have less money to spend. In
2016, Idaho payroll workers 14 to 18 years old
earned $203.8 million. Teen boys held 10,055
jobs paying an average $11,227 a year, while
girls held 11,227 jobs paying an average $8,565.
• Less preparation for the world of work: Jobs can expose teenagers to
new experiences, learn how to manage money,
develop customer service skills and help them
mature. Work teaches teens the importance of
showing up on time, taking responsibility and
getting along with co-workers and supervisors.
• Fewer workers available: Teens’ reduced employment is exacerbating the
effects of low unemployment. With Idaho’s
unemployment rate at record lows, a lack of job
applicants is preventing many companies from
expanding while increasing the costs of hiring
and managing workers. Between 1996 and 2016, the
number of Idahoans aged14 to 18 years grew 18.8
percent, while their payroll employment fell
11.5 percent – from 24,052 to 21,282. If their
jobs had grown at the same rate as their
population, there would have been 28,568 teens
working. Those additional 7,286 workers would
have helped fill some critical gaps in the labor
market, especially benefitting restaurants,
stores, lodging places, recreation and
construction.
The labor market’s need for teens also is
greater because of the large number of people
retiring.
The number of Idahoans turning 16 years old —
the age when teens traditionally enter the labor
market — rose 14 percent, from 21,930 in 2000 to
25,000 in 2016.
In 2000, 8,830 Idahoans celebrated their 65th
birthdays. In 2016, more than twice as many —
19,100 — did. |
