Teens facing a tough labor market this summer, By Karen Herzog, June 3, 2010, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Young people are being squeezed out of summer jobs, and seasonal employers will have to do more with less, as a dramatically increased minimum wage that went into effect last year affects summer hiring for the first time. Wisconsin’s minimum wage increased for the first time in three years last July 24, from $5.90 an hour to $7.25 an hour for minors, and from $6.50 to $7.25 for adults. The biggest hit was to the state’s agricultural sector, including produce farms that hire kids to help guide suburbanites through strawberry patches. Though an agricultural exemption previously allowed farms to pay minors $4.25 per hour, all farm employees – regardless of age – now must be paid at least $7.25 an hour. Tween and young teen workers used to be bargain employees for farms, which in turn taught them how to be good workers. But the disappearance of the agricultural exemption is shifting more of those jobs to older teens who require less supervision…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty