Why Have Teens Stopped Getting Summer Jobs?

Trends point to a decline in U.S. teenagers getting summer employment over the years, with 60 percent of teens working in 1978 versus 35 percent in the summer of 2018, according to Delaware 105.9 FM . One factor is the emergence of older Americans and new immigrants vying for work that teens would usually take during the summer months. Another factor is teens' increasing immersion in summer sports, classes, and camos. Also having a significant effect is the redundancy and even elimination of many traditional summer jobs, like pumping gasoline, delivering newspapers, and mowing lawns that were more prevalent in 1978.