Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog
Summer vacation is a time when many teens join the workforce, earning spending money or extra cash to help their families out with bills. For the past few summers, teens looking for jobs have had it rough due to high unemployment rates in most parts of the country. This year, however, a nationwide survey reveals that teens are optimistic about their ability to find summer employment. 
If more teens do find work this summer, it means that there will be more young people in the workplace who are potentially at risk of getting hurt. While a teen job can be a great learning experience and a resume booster, teens in workplaces who have minimal experience are at risk of injury. Our Boston work injury attorneys urge parents to ensure that employers are doing everything to keep kids safe and to remind employers that hiring teen workers carries risks that need to be managed.
Teens are Optimistic About Summer Employment
Fox 6 Now has recently reported that the majority of teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 years of age intend to get jobs this summer. This statistic comes from a the nationwide Junior Achievement USA’s 2013 Teens and Summer Jobs Survey. According to the survey:
-63 percent of teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 intend to get a job this summer.
-92 percent of teens who are planning to look for employment are either very or somewhat confident that they will find seasonal work.
-38 percent of teens who were surveyed indicated that they had held down a summer job in the past.
-47 percent of surveyed teens indicated that they planned to use their parents’ connections to find employment.
-33 percent of responding teenagers said that they would be using online job postings to secure a job.
-32 percent said that they planned to get their job by looking in store windows to see if they had hiring signs.
-72 percent of surveyed teens indicated that they anticipate earning between $7.25 (minimum wage) and $10 per hour although the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that 21 percent of employed teens earned minimum wage or less in 2012.
These statistics reveal some important facts. First and foremost, if most teens that anticipate finding jobs actually do enter the workforce, there will be a lot of young workers this summer. Many of these young workers have never had jobs and do not have the knowledge or experience that can help them stay safe in the workplace.
This means that employers need to go the extra mile to ensure that kids are safe when they are working. Further, since many kids intend to find jobs through their parent’s connections, parents need to ensure that they are recommending safe worksites for kids and that their children go to work for employers who place a premium on workplace safety and avoiding work injuries.
If you are injured on the job in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your workers’ compensation claim– (617) 777-7777.
More Blog Entries:
Factory Deaths Abroad Highlight Work Safety Concerns in MA, Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog, May 10, 2013.