[elli1]

Minimum wage laws are just part of teenage unemployment. Limits on hours that teens can work during the school year, added 'paperwork' for the employers who hire teens, and being barred from operating a lot of types of machinery are all contributing factors. From the employers' perspective, a lot of the time, hiring a teen is more hassle than it's worth. Suffice to say that, in 1948, there were simply a wider variety of jobs available for teens. The options available to the youth of today have drastically narrowed.

[txroadhawg]

Another large part of teenage unemployment is Illegal immigrants taking those jobs "Americans dont want". They can operate the machinery because of no health coverage, there's no paperwork, and they can pool their money and live 5 to a room. Who needs minimum wage.

[taxed2death]

The biggest "hit" to teen employment is the FACT that illegals are taking most of the entry level jobs in the trades.

This applies to black youth too.

W. Williams has a somewhat myopic view here.

[New Orleans Slim]

"Minimum wage laws are just part of teenage unemployment. Limits on hours that teens can work during the school year, added 'paperwork' for the employers who hire teens, and being barred from operating a lot of types of machinery are all contributing factors." Teens shouldn't be working at all during the school year. They should be studying and doing school work so that they can do better later in life. Except for hardship cases, working at a McJob never helped on a college application - it only lowers high school GPAs. The people I know from high school who worked long hours during the school year are still doing menial jobs today. (Note, I am not saying the law should necessarily bar teens from working, but parents need to think this thing through.)