Minnesota Summer Teen Employment Is Higher Than The National Average

Do you remember your first summer job? I got mine when I was in high school. I worked for a Clay shooting range in Colorado as a scorekeeper and trap loader. Out of all the summer jobs I have ever had, that was my favorite. I also helped at my family business growing up, but working at a sand and gravel mine wasn't my cup of tea. On top of my summer jobs, I was also a multisport athlete, so I had practiced as well. There has never been a time in my life where I haven't been busy.

With summer officially in full swing, many teens have started their summer jobs. KARE 11 did a story the other day about teen employment across the state. The article said that the national average for teens in the workplace is "around 38 percent." Minnesota is quite a bit higher. DEED analyst Oriane Casale explained that last year our state teen employment rate was around 45 percent. If my math is correct, that's about a seven percent increase.

Summer jobs teach a lot of life lessons that can't be learned anywhere else. They teach you responsibility, managing money, and workplace flow. If I didn't have summer jobs growing up, I would not have been as prepared for the workplace as I was. It's great to see teens in our state being ambitious enough to go out and work this summer.

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