As summer arrives, traditional jobs for youths going away

Memorial Day marked the unofficial start to summer. But for young job seekers, there is nothing to celebrate.

American retailers that have traditionally staffed up in summers are closing at an unprecedented rate. Over 3,500 stores have closed already this year, with at least 10 well-known chains filing for bankruptcy protection. These include RadioShack, Payless Shoes and Rue21, which plan to close more than 1,000 stores this year. Other mall regulars such as American Apparel, Abercrombie & Fitch, BCBG and Guess plan to close hundreds more.

Since August, Macy’s, J.C. Penney and Sears have announced they are closing nearly 400 stores, with the latter admitting it’s on the verge of bankruptcy. Because of these retailers’ outsized importance as mall anchor tenants, their pain trickles down to nearby stores. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracked 26,000 job losses at traditional retail stores in February alone. Once a symbol of youth summer jobs, malls are becoming a memorial to them.

Even traditional summer job opportunities that aren’t in direct competition with Amazon are disappearing. Many movie theaters now use ordering kiosks. Grocery and convenience stores have self-checkout. And restaurant chains such as Chili’s, Applebee’s and Panera use tablet ordering systems. These are automated tasks that were once performed by a mostly young workforce.

The disappearance of these jobs is demonstrated by the data. Less than 1 in 3 young Americans aged 16 to 19 has a job, significantly below the historical norm.

These starter jobs provide summer workers with more than just a paycheck. A growing research consensus indicates they offer a set of skills that help employees throughout their career.

What can policymakers do to help their young job seekers? The tech and automation trends cannot be stopped. But policymakers can avoid doing more harm by opposing dramatic minimum wage proposals that would outlaw certain job arrangements and accelerate the automation of jobs.

Young job seekers are facing a perfect storm of employment barriers this summer. Their elected representatives should avoid raising new ones with workplace mandates that weaken the already fragile first rung of the career ladder.