Getting those first jobs are momentous for teenagers. There is so much skill building going on which lasts a lifetime.
According to a NYT article 2010 is shaping up to be even worse than last year for the millions of high school and college students looking for summer jobs.
"State and local governments, traditionally among the biggest seasonal employers, are knee-deep in budget woes, and the stimulus money that helped cushion some government job programs last summer is running out. Private employers are also reluctant to hire until the economy shows more solid signs of recovery.
For generations, government data shows, at least half of all teenagers were in the labor force in June, July and August. Starting this decade, though, the number of employed teenagers began to drop, and by 2009, less than a third of teenagers had jobs. This year, the number could fall below 30 percent."
Imagine teens without a summer job. What fills up their time? I can think of some of the alternatives. But how about some other productive activities in the community or within the entrepreneurial area? What options may be available to them to fill up those long summer days?
It also encourages one to think about one's own summer employment as teens, the positive and possibly negative memories. As a farm boy, I participated in the harvest of tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers on our fifty acre farm. It was dirty and sweaty but a cannonball dive in the pond in the evening vanquished all fatigue.
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