This is the time of year when teenagers head to shopping malls in search of seasonal jobs, money to stock away for college, ski trips or a new pair of $200 jeans.
But this year — as everyone not hiding in a cave understands — is an economic year like no other most of us have ever seen.
The bad news keeps pouring in. On Friday the Commerce Department announced that consumer spending dropped 2.8 percent in October compared to September, the biggest drop on record. Retailers suffered the weakest October in at least four decades.
It was the fourth straight month of declining sales and has stores bracing for an ominous holiday season.
Young people are certainly aware of the economic crisis. Some of them have watched family members lose jobs, houses and savings plans. But many of them are still mesmerized by Juicy Couture bags and J. Crew jackets. Suburban kids have still been enjoying $5 coffees and $40 pedicures while their families’ portfolios dipped. But that may not continue as the ripples of the market spread wider, and deeper.
With sagging retail sales and a rising unemployment rate, part-time and seasonal job opportunities for high school and college students are disappearing.
Last week, Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. J.C. Penney announced its third-quarter earnings had fallen more than 50 percent from last year. Abercrombie & Fitch, Kohl’s and Nordstrom profits were also way down as consumers lost more confidence in the market and their own financial stability.
For the teenage job seeker, it means not only a decline in lip gloss and UGGs, but the disappearance of a valuable learning opportunity.
Every teenager should spend some time working a cash register or balancing a tray of cheeseburgers and Cokes. The lessons learned with those after-school or weekend jobs can’t be taught anywhere else.
Jobs teach kids about responsibility and the value of money. They learn to say no to a last-minute party because of a job commitment. They figure out how to get to work on time, dress appropriately and follow instructions from their supervisor. And they learn the challenges of juggling this commitment along with their school, sports and social lives.
They learn to prepare resumes and applications. They learn how to present themselves during job interviews, all the while training for future job hunts and business meetings.
A $7-an-hour job provides some money management lessons that many of us parents failed to teach properly. During more flush economic days, some of us unknowingly created children too attached to Starbucks breakfasts and California Pizza Kitchen lunches.
Now they are finding parents passing out fewer $20s at the same time the retailers are avoiding holiday hires. The lucky working kids become more aware of saving money and resisting impulse buying.
Jobs also teach teenagers how to work with others. They’ll find that they won’t always like their boss, their schedule or their customers. Young workers learn they need to figure out how to get along with people they don’t like and responsibilities they didn’t expect. Through the trials and errors of working, they become smarter at making future job and educational decisions. Some of them will even figure out how to find a future job they love.
They also learn that few things are accomplished alone. They meet, work with and work for people who are not their peers. They get to know richer people and poorer people. And they learn that there are people who are better than they are at certain skills. They learn that not all education comes from books and classrooms.
As the economy continues its spiral, our teenagers will obviously learn more about economic realities. But they probably will learn it through watching the struggles of parents and other relatives and friends. They’ll figure it out as parents become less generous with allowances, shopping trips and vacations. And they will figure it out when they don’t get a favorable response to their job applications and interviews.
While these are important lessons, they won’t be the same kind of lessons we were lucky enough to experience as teenage waitresses, stock clerks and salesmen. In these difficult financial times, they won’t be afforded the opportunity to learn the simple lessons of earning a living.
