In today’s world, the controversy of whether adolescents should be granted the right to work has left the world bewildered. The two contemplating factors consist of the benefits and cost a working adolescent encounters, along the major affects youth employment has on the economy as a whole.

The purpose of this research paper is to measure both the benefits and cost of youth employment on the adolescent, as well as society, and determine which decision makes the world more efficient and sustainable. 

Throughout life, most individuals are told by their elders that it is important to receive a good education, in order to have a sustainable career later in the future. This concept of investing in one’s future from a young age has gone unquestioned for decades, well that is, until recently. A recent study by Business Source Complete has discovered that almost 50% of high school students choose not to attend college and 40% of them say it is because they believe that they will be better off working at their current establishment (Bayrak, Rıza,). The idea of high school students choosing not to attend college is not what worries United States’ School Board Officials or other governmental figures. Rather, what worries these individuals is the effect this transition will have on the United States as a whole. The main issue with adolescent’s choosing not attend college is that it will dramatically increase the unemployment rate. Evidence and support to support these claims will be discussed throughout this essay.

Before discussing the possible dramatic increase in the United States’ unemployment rate, it is important to understand what unemployment truly is. By definition, the word unemployment means “one who is not engaged in a gainful occupation” (Merriam Webster). Unfortunately, this definition is just too simple according to the United States’ government. The United States uses multiple factors to categorize someone as unemployed. The Department of Labor Statistics qualifies an individual as unemployed if they meet all of the following criteria, “People are classified as unemployed if they do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior four weeks, and are currently available for work” (Department of Labor Statistics). The issue of unemployment does not only involve the government and those who are considered unemployed, rather it affects all individuals who earn a paycheck and pay unemployment taxes. The lower the number of unemployed individuals in the United States, the less amount working Americans must lose from their paychecks. The higher number of unemployed individuals in the United States, the more working Americans lose from their paycheck. The United States’ government uses U.S. taxpayer’s money to help fund programs to support and provide for those who are unemployed. This being said, almost all Americans want the unemployment rate to decrease so that taxes will decrease and they can retain more of their paycheck.

When considering how much tax money is actually being used to fund unemployment programs, it is important to note how the unemployment rate is calculated. One common misperception about the unemployment rate is that, is it simply the number of Americans who are unemployed divided by the population of the United States. This assumption is very incorrect. If this were true, the unemployed would include babies and those who are retired. Rather the employment rate is calculated by dividing the total number of people who are considered unemployed by the current work force (Furman, Jason). The work force is considered individuals who are able to work and currently have a job or trying to find one. The ideal unemployment rate for a country is between three and four percent (Bloomberg). Some might wonder why government officials would not prefer this percentage to be zero percent. If the unemployment rate was zero, there would be no new businesses opening because there would be no one to work at them. The preferred unemployment rate is also between three and four percent because it forces competition between employees and requires some individuals to become entrepreneurs by inventing new products. As of February 2017, the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.7% (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Although seven tenths above the ideal unemployment rate might not seem like a big deal, this causes over twenty-three million dollars in tax funds (Hawks, Douglas). Extreme tax conditions like these are why Americans are so worried of an increasing unemployment rate. 

The two opposing arguments on youth employment are those who believe adolescents should have the right to work, and those who believe adolescents should not have the right to work. To compare these two opposing sides, it is important to first notice how youth employment affects the child individually and then notice the outcome it has on the economy as a whole. Although there are several benefits of youth employment, the three most valuable assets an adolescent receives by working at a job are time management, cash flows, and overall experience.

One of the most valuable assets of working at a job is learning time management. From the moment people are born, they are kept by their parents or guardians side for years. Children are taken care of, nourished, and looked after at every moment of their young life. Some supporters of youth employment argue that the first time a child feels true independence is when they start their first job. This transition is massive for a young adolescent because their daily relationship no longer involves just the themselves and their parent. Rather, it now involves the adolescent and their employer. For most children, this is the first time their parents are not involved in the actions they make and the outcomes they bring. This results in working adolescents learning to be responsible and learn how to manage their time. These responsibilities include showing up to work on time, finding the right transportation if necessary, and finishing certain tasks by specific times. Supporters of youth employment not only argue that learning time management is valuable for young adults, but also argues that it occupies them, giving them less time to get into trouble (Bayrak, Rıza). As the Huffington Post states, “Boredom is the devil's playground”, meaning that if someone has excess time and nothing to do, they normally get into trouble (Huffington Post). This quote becomes more accurate when discussing adolescents, especially high school students, who are sometimes constantly getting into trouble and mayhem.

Although time management is a huge asset in the upbringing of a young adult, the concept of responsibility is also very important, this includes budgeting cash flows. When working for a business there are two major types of cash flows. The first type of cash flows involve the working individual and their paycheck. These cash flows include selling your labor to a company for cash, and spending the cash on other products or services. As a previous working adolescent, the feeling of receiving your very first paycheck is one of the most fulfilling moments in an adolescent’s working career. This is because you know you deserved it and earned it on your own. When an adolescent is handling their personal money, they learn how to budget and save in order to purchase the goods they have been saving up for. This concept teaches an adolescent that hard work and patients is needed in order to buy expensive products, like a new pair of shoes or a new gaming system. The second type of cash flows adolescents encounter are the cash flows involving their employer’s money. When an individual is employed, their employer is trusting them with their personal physical capital. This includes task such as working the cash register, placing inventory orders, or recording transactions. These types of cash flows involve much more risk because employees are held responsible if the cash register does not add up at the end of the shift, or if merchandise is missing. These types of responsibilities teach adolescents the severity of dealing with someone else’s money and the consequences if anything is missing or unaccounted for.

Although qualities like time management and cash flows are vital to an adolescent’s success in the future, the most valuable asset a child receives from working is their experience at the job. The experience a child learns from working enables them to achieve success in the future in multiple ways. For starters, a prior job is something that individuals are capable of adding to their resume in order to attain future job offers. Next, prior work experience allows individuals to accept that sometime you will fail but it is not the end of the world. Especially when first starting at a new job, you might encounter several difficult tasks that you have no experience in. For instance, an individual who works as a game clear at a park will need to learn how to attract guest and be entertaining. Another example includes a lifeguard who must be alert at all times. These are just two examples of many different tasks new employees might encounter. Another benefits you learn from being employed is working with others who are not necessarily family members. During a child’s young life, the only individuals they take commands from are their parents and potentially their aunts and uncles. When entering the workforce, employees are required to follow their employer’s rules and regulations if they want to continue to work there. This common concept of a hierarchy allows young adults to truly understand how society works.

Although there are many different reasons why youth employment is beneficial, there are also many cost to it as well. The individuals who believe that youth employment would be bad for the economy want to terminate youth employment across the country. This is because this group of people believe that the cost of child employment greatly outweighs the benefits. The two main contributing factors that make the cost of youth employment so high are the effects it could have on children involving their self-esteem and education.

One of the two major reasons why the cost of youth employment is so high is because it could potentially lower the self-esteem of an adolescent (Lind, Nancy). The first example of how this is possible is if the adolescent’s job requires strictly routine procedures. This could include working at a fast-food restaurant like McDonalds. At McDonalds, employees are not supposed to have full conversations with their guest. For instance, common remarks such as, “Can I take your order?” or “Would you like fries with that?” might be said hundreds of times in a single workday. Of course, these quick remarks are not deadly to a young adult’s character at first, but overtime the child will feel as if they are a machine. Although this is true, many people argue that this might not be the case to all adolescent professions. Nancy Lind, author of Today’s Economic Issues claims that instances like these are only the case for what she likes to call “retail machine” jobs. By this Nancy means, that only the jobs like fast-food restaurants or manufacturing facilities would this be the case. Nancy states that if an adolescent is working at a more “traditional” job, such as mowing the lawn of shoveling snow, they will find more self-worth in their work. The concept of having a more “traditional” job also allows an individual to choose their own work schedule and manage their time to their choosing, unlike an employer who makes the schedule for their employees. This idea of how much time a job requires brings us to our next topic, discussing a lack in education.

Statistical case studies have found that high school students who work more than ten hours a week are almost twice as likely to have to repeat a grade or dropout, compared to those who do not work at all (Bayrak, Rıza). This is because working requires a large amount of time, that most high school students do not have. High school students are expected to be involved. This could include, a sport, club, social activity, or organization. As a high school student, you are almost are required to be involved in order to add that organization on to your resume when applying for college or scholarships. After a full school day, clubs, sports and homework, there is no time left for a student to work. Most high school students are not even able to accomplish all of their task and still get eight hours of sleep each night without other activities (Bayrak, Rıza). When are they supposed to find time to work? A student who decides to work normally results in a decline in their grades. This is because there are simply not enough hours in the day to complete everything a high school student is obligated to complete. Working a job results in less time to study. Less studying results in lower grades. Lower grades results in a higher drop-out rate. It is that simple.

Now that there is a well-established understanding of both the benefits and cost to youth employment, we can now understand the overall affect it has in the economy. Personally I believe there are just two simple deciding factors to understanding how youth employment hurts the overall unemployment rate. For starters, there are about 7.5 million unemployed adults in the United States (Department of Labor Statistics). There are also about 41.7 million adolescents employed in the United States (Department of Labor Statistics). But that’s fair, right? It is okay for those 41.7 million adolescents to take jobs that could have been given to 7.5 million adults looking for work? Wrong! The main difference between adults and adolescents is what they are spending their paychecks on. For instance, a working adolescent might save up his or her paycheck to purchase a new pair of shoes or a new gaming system. This items are categorized as luxuries. Luxuries are good or services that consumers desire, not essentially need (Cloutier, David). These adolescents are purchasing their desires because they do not really require many necessities. In fact, high school student have the highest form of disposable income in the entire world. This is because most necessities like food and shelter are provided by their parents. Now think about the situation from an adult’s perspective. When an adult receives their paycheck, it is almost immediately used up. That is because the good and services that adults purchase with their paychecks might include mortgage payments, food, car insurance, and healthcare. These goods and services fall under the category of necessities. Necessities mean that these items are necessary for basic principles of life (Mundel, Juan). 

Now after evaluating how both adolescents and adults spend their paycheck, it is possible to weigh the cost and benefits. First you have to consider, what is worse? Is it worse if an adult cannot afford their basic necessities like food and water? Or is it worse if a fifteen-year-old cannot walk around in his new pair of Jordan’s or play their new video game. Obviously, it is worse if an adult cannot purchase their necessities. This does not mean that I believe that adolescents should not be allowed to work. Rather, I believe there needs to be stronger restrictions on youth employment to compensate for all of the adults who are unemployed looking for jobs. If youth employment was even decrease marginally, it would result in an abundance of opening jobs for adults to fill. Not only is adult unemployment dangerous considering the fact that they are unable to purchase their necessities, but also adult unemployment also is linked to a lower life expectancy, higher suicide rate, and higher disease rate.

After reading the paragraphs above, it is made clear that their needs to be at least some stricter laws on youth employment. If less youth are able to work, this is going to result in more adults working, thus lowering the unemployment rate. A decrease in the unemployment rate will then cause a decrease in taxes, resulting in more money for working Americans. Also, big businesses like Walmart, Giant, or any other multinational corporations will be forced to pay their employees a higher hourly wage. This is because if less adolescents are capable of working, there will be a decrease in the supply of workers available to work. If there are less workers, companies will be required to pay them more because there are less individuals waiting to take their position. Not being able to find a job as a high schooler will encourage more students to focus on their education and possibly attend college of a technical school, which overtime will increase the standard of living within the United States. After reading all of the information above, it is obvious that youth employment should not be banned, but rather stricken, to compensate for the millions of adults who are unemployed.
