Idle hands are the devil's playthings.


Teen Summer Jobs Market is Worst Since World War II


WASHINGTON, July 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- New data on employment rates show the proportion of teenagers who have summer jobs has fallen so dramatically it is now lower than any year since the end of World War II, making the summer of 2003 the worst in nearly 60 years, according to Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies and the National League of Cities.

The employment figures, just released by the U.S. Department of Labor, confirm predictions made in a report published a month ago by Northeastern's Center for Labor Market Studies and the National League of Cities.

Only 36.4 percent of all young people between the ages of 16 and 19 were employed in June 2003. This seasonally adjusted U.S. teen employment rate, the lowest since 1948, has plunged by more than nine percentage points over the past three years. The comparable rate for teens in June 2000, at the peak of the labor market boom, was 45.8 percent.

"At a time when the wealthiest Americans are enjoying unprecedented prosperity, how can we allow the job market for our young adults to unravel before our eyes?" said Charlie Lyons, National League of Cities first vice president and selectman of Arlington, Massachusetts. "If we allow such inequalities to persist and continue to grow, we almost certainly are endangering America's future..."





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