Why Summer Jobs are Tougher to Fill

In a June 6 Wall Street Journal Article, June Kronholz weighs in on why summer jobs are getting tougher to fill and the trends with foreign workers. "...the story of how the U.S. came to rely so heavily on foreigners ... says a lot about the changing nature of the U.S. labor force." The seasonal employment world is changing. What's it going to take to stay on our game? Read the article here.

Why Fewer Teens Have Summer Jobs

We've been struggling to make sense out of what feels like a trend of fewer folks in general being interested in summer jobs and, specifically, a declining interest in the outdoor locations that we Cool Works (tm) represents.

We came across an article today by Derek Larson of The College of St. Benedict/St. John's University about why fewer teens are grabbing summer jobs that we thought was pretty good. Some of his high points:

* Fewer jobs are available to teens than in the past due to reduced demand for low-skilled labor and other factors such as summer school

* There's more money out there. Families aren't as reliant on income from teens to help with expenses

* Teens are finding that advancing their education can be more valuable in the summer than working to help pay for it. A summer job will have little impact financially

* Stagnant minimum wages may have driven teens into the cash economy

* Hiring teens can be complicated. Employers are seeking older workers

This is great food for thought. Read the article at St Cloud Times website.