Michigan labor officials say teenagers may have a better chance this year of landing a summer job.
In the summer of 2010, at the height of the recession, teen summer unemployment was pegged at 35 percent.
State economic analyst Bruce Weaver predicts this summer teen unemployment should be closer to 25 percent.
“The types of industries that tend to hire teens … which primarily fall in the service and retail sector … have added jobs in Michigan over the past several years,” says Weaver.
Weaver says teens wanting a summer job should be looking now. He says many of those jobs are filled before Memorial Day.
Year - Teen Summer (June-August) Unemployment Rate (%)
2003 - 17.2%
2004 - 18.2%
2005 - 17.9%
2006 - 21.7%
2007 - 22.0%
2008 - 25.3%
2009 - 31.8%
2010 - 35.0%
2011 - 28.6%
2012 - 26.7%
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Unpublished Current Population Survey data
