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Here’s what you need to know:
1. MAY WAS A BAD MONTH FOR TEENS Employment among teens decreased in May to just 75,000. That is nearly 52 percent lower than the 156,000 job gains in May 2016, and the lowest summer-month total since May 2011, when just 71,000 job gains were recorded, the firm found.
“June typically averages the most job gains of the summer months, with well over 700,000 jobs added on average since 2006, but these are some of the strongest numbers we’ve seen since the recovery,” said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
2. RETAIL ISN'T IMPACTING TEEN EMPLOYMENT TOO MUCH Some economic experts believed retail closures would impact teen employment, but Challenger doesn't believe it has. Challenger has tracked over 5,000 announced closures of retail locations since January 2017. In the early 2000s, between 13 and 15 percent of retail industry employees were teenagers, according to the NRF. After the Great Recession, the number is now between 10 and 11 percent of employees.
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“While May gains were lower than average this year, June’s more than offset that pace. It seems the recent decline of brick-and-mortar retail locations has not subdued hiring among teens,” Challenger said.
3. RETAILERS STILL HIRING While teens are finding jobs outside of retail, many are still flocking toward traditional stores for seasonal positions. In late June, JCPenney announced it would hire 600 employees throughout Ohio. The retailer needed associates for a variety of customer service and support positions, including: cashier, replenishment specialist, SEPHORA inside JCPenney beauty consultant and salon stylists.
4. KROGER HAS AN IMPACT LOCALLY Employers like Kroger, Lowe's, Meijer and and Costco all contribute to helping train younger people for the workforce. In late June, Cincinnati-based retailer Kroger said it was hiring for 800 open positions at all Kroger locations.
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Kroger just opened its newest location in the area early this month at the Cornerstone of Centerville development, where approximately 250 people were hired. It is also opening a new marketplace location in Fairborn by the end of August.
5. FIRST JOBS STILL MATTER "The beginning of every success story is … always the same: the first job," said Ellen Davis, NRF's senior vice president of research and strategic initiatives. "The position that empowers an individual to build poise and professional skills, refine their career goals and rise to management and executive-level positions."
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