It's Tough Out There for Teenage Job Seekers

If you're an American teenager looking for work, chances are you'll be looking for quite some time.

Job prospects for young people continue to decline as more than a quarter of American teens are now unemployed. This number has steadily increased since 2000, as teens and young adults without four-year college degrees have seen their employment opportunities all but disappear.

To make matters worse, a July report (pdf) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that teen employment has fallen to levels not previously experienced in the post World-War II era.

In an urban context, these statistics hit low income youths particularly hard. As a result of the economic downturn, these teens must now compete not with other high schoolers, but with the millions of adult workers out of a job, many of whom have been unemployed for months.

With all of the negative effects that perpetual unemployment has on adults, consider the lasting consequences that come from teen unemployment.

A July study (pdf) from the Center for Labor Market Studies shows the grim repercussions for an economy that fails to find employment opportunities for low-income youth. Teen employment has a direct correlation to whether the individual can break the cycle of poverty. Without the cumulative work experience earned in the teen years, teens are more susceptible to dropping out, delinquent behavior, engaging in violence and even teen pregnancy. But when a teen is able to find stable employment, doors are opened that will lead to greater financial literacy and opportunities, as well as the immediate ability to use his earnings to help his struggling family.

Unfortunately, the reality for many teens born into poverty is that they will have to play catch-up. A consistent job could change that, since it instills the necessary skills and experience to move out of perpetual poverty. With the stakes are high as they are, the consequences of teen unemployment cannot be ignored. According to the Center for Labor Market Studies report, "the long-term consequences of this enormous rise in youth joblessness can be quite substantial for the youth themselves, their families, communities and the nation as a whole." In other words, this bad economy could beget another, long after these teens are adults.

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