Why aren’t teenagers working?

Mike Rowe talks about why teenagers aren’t working and why we shouldn’t belittle minimum wage jobs.

[DAWGnROADIE]

I think this conversation misses the fact that high school is different today. These kids are working an eight to nine hour job going to school. Then another three to four hours of homework (plus extracurricular activities needed for college applications).
The school year is about one month longer than it was fifteen years ago.
So these kids are working from 8 am to 10 pm. There is no time for a job at McDonalds.

[bigbone]

Teenagers can't get these entry-level jobs because older people are working them. The jobs that used to pay a decent wage doesn't exist in this country anymore. You also have elderly folks having to unretire snd take these jobs because they can't live on their retirement anymore or worst, lost it.

[beckycrump]

So many middle class jobs have disappeared so those workers had to move down to what was available. That doesn't leave as many jobs for teens. And since inflation has risen both parents must work to live.

[MarkGresch]

It's not that we wanted the rungs equal, it's that we want to be able to survive regardless of the rung.

[gregsonger]

No. Mike is wrong. The middle rungs have disappeared and so the lower rungs that were filled by children are now filled by adults who are forced to work multiple jobs for more than 40 hours a week to barely scrape by.

[samuelcarrasco]

Meanwhile entry level jobs: we require 3+ years experience

[mr.nemesis]

One reason could be the pressure to get accepted into university. With the amount of work that higher level classes bring, students cannot practically work as their hours will be severely restricted.

[gideonwilliams]

FDR, who created the minimum wage would strongly disagree:

"In my Inaugural I laid down the simple proposition that nobody is going to starve in this country. It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By "business" I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living."

When it was invented, minimum wage was meant to support someone fully. It doesn't need to be equal to the CEO of a fortune 500, it just needs to be enough to feed, clothe, and house someone with like $200/month of wiggle room.

[jak]

For 16 year old working it’s all about conditions. Making close to minimum wage isn’t a problem at that age, but when management screws you over with hours and shifts you didn’t want/ can’t take. It’s puts stress on someone who has their own class schedule. In the free market employers need to supply a job that either has no bs or pays enough to ignore the bs

[TheShaolin]

How can a high school student compete against with a 30 year old with 10 years of experience? Look around. These jobs are being filled with 30, 40, 50 year old, and I think thats a bigger problem than high schoolers not working. I think these high schoolers might have a problem competing against these people.

[Cimreau]

Working a "lower rung" job is only worthwhile if it's leading to something better. Often, those lower rung jobs are a distraction when we could be training to get the certifications we need for jobs that pay a living wage. We don't want all the rungs on the ladder to be equal. We don't need perfect wage equality, but it's obvious that wage inequality is out of control. Executive millions don't come from the ether, they come from devaluing labour and extracting the maximum value from those lower rungs. A product is worth what the purchaser will pay for it, and if nobody wants to trade his time for your wages, then your wages are not competitive in the current labour market.

[MK-wesw]

People dont want to work low paying jobs. You dont pay people what they think they are worth they wont work the job hence you get a labour shortage. There is also a lack of respect for people working those jobs in America.

[BasicUniversalEconomics]

The problem is that some people can not / will not be able to achieve anything past entry level. But they still have to eat

[EngineeringFun]

He's been an actor his whole life, masquerading as a working man.

[chrisll]

Who works monday thru friday during the day? A 16 year old? No, an adult that is willing to work a full time work week. Why isn't a full time work week "designed" to generate enough to support an adult? Profit. All of the rungs aren't equal ever but if you work 40 hours then I think you deserve a living wage. Period. Who is this guy? oh right a guy with a voice.

[ljss]

I searched for "Financially tone deaf and out of touch with reality" and Google recommended this video.

[Mostusernamesaretakn]

Those jobs don’t matter to employers. You can have ten years of Taco Bell experience but that won’t help you get a high paying job. Having work experience isn’t important nowadays unless it’s relevant, thus these jobs don’t appeal unless solely for income.

[ClintUdy]

I am a business owner, I pay my lowest rungs above a 0ivable wage. The reason? They earn it. They are the front line, they are the ones exposed to Karens, they are the ones that do the hardest and most demeaning of jobs. I get great people working, lower turnover, and fewer mistakes. My costs go down overall from paying a higher wage and I make more profit as a result (2-4% more on average) which I share with my employees as bonuses (no investors or shareholders to be concerned). Finally, I do it because when the minimum wage was introduced it was meant to be a livable wage, which I can do because it is a private corporation.

[scottykelk]

If a job wasn’t important, it wouldn’t be there.

[willmichael]

Why would a teenager work these days? They have more homework than ever, so less time. On top of that, their social outlets are online, ie free, so they don’t need money. Yesteryear’s teens needed gas money and entertainment money to fill their ample free time.

If companies want more teens working, they should do what any employer who wants more workers should do and *gasp* raise the wages!