Economy and Kids!

Kids’ buying power packs economic punch.

Kathryn Glenn, 17, a senior at Anderson High School in Austin, works several hours each afternoon at her part-time job at a child care center. The job not only gives her valuable work experience – she hopes to possibly pursue a career in elementary education – but also gives her spending money.

“I’m going out of state for college, so I’m trying to save,” says Glenn, who will attend the University of Mississippi next fall. “It’s also just kind of nice to have some spending money. I like to go shopping a lot.”

Glenn is typical of many Texas teens. Of the 1.4 million Texans aged 16 to 19 in 2006, about 460,000 were employed in the civilian labor market, either full- or part-time.

This segment of young workers wields serious buying power. Annual spending of 13- to 17-year-olds is estimated at more than $30 billion, with median annual savings of $478, according to the YouthPulse report by market research firm Harris Interactive. Buying power extends to younger kids as well. In the United States, kids aged 3 to 11 comprise a population of 36 million that had a collective $18 billion in purchasing power in 2005, according to a report from market researcher Packaged Facts.

Summer Jobs

Logan Gibbs, 17, a junior at Round Rock High School, works two nights a week at his job at the pro shop at Westwood Country Club in Austin. His part-time job extends to almost full-time during summer breaks.

“Usually over the summer I work Monday, Wednesday, Friday and sometimes Sundays,” Gibbs says. “Over the summer I work a seven-hour shift, sometimes more.”

Toward the end of May, thousands of Texas teens like Gibbs will start their summer break and hit the job market, hoping to gain valuable work experience as employers begin hiring for the busy summer season.

From April to June 2006, more than 80,000 people entered the Texas labor force, including teenagers eager to gain valuable vocational experience or earn their first paychecks, according to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).

“Texas employers rely on teen workers each summer and recognize youth as integral to their success,” says former TWC Chair Diane Rath. “The experience young workers gain will help them determine which work opportunities enable them to better develop and showcase their strengths.”

A TWC youth employment contractor, Good Samaritan Community Services, helps youths in three counties in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region find work with participating employers. The nonprofit works with more than 200 employers, including grocery chain H-E-B, says Meg Ballantyne, communications manager for Good Samaritan Community Services.

“We help place them with an employer and they work 120 to 180 hours,” she says. “Our clients that are in school will complete their 120 to 180 hours during the summer. They learn ‘soft skills,’ or employability skills that employers look for such as interviewing skills, communication, problem solving, critical thinking, customer service skills and work ethic.”

More Workers

While Texas’ population has increased in recent years, the number of working teens has fluctuated. The 460,000 teens employed in Texas in 2006 represented an 18 percent jump from the 388,000 employed in 2005, but was a 13.5 percent fall from the 532,000 teens working in 2000.

Neither the Bureau of Labor Statistics nor TWC break down workers’ age groups by industry, so there are no statistics available on which specific industries draw the most teen workers. But traditional summer jobs in retail, restaurants, hotels and hospitality and amusement centers rely on their cadre of teen workers during the summers and on evenings and weekends throughout the year.

Each year Schlitterbahn hires more than 3,000 seasonal workers, many of them teen-agers, for its three water parks at South Padre Island, Galveston Island and its flagship park in New Braunfels.

“What makes it fun for our associates is not only that you’ve got a job and you’re saving for college, but we actively tout that you’ll make 2,000 friends this summer,” says Jeffrey Siebert, director of communications for Schlitterbahn. “You’re surrounded by folks your age, not only from a working standpoint, but you’ll meet guests your age from all over the world.”

Siebert says Schlitterbahn parks offer a fun working environment for teens but also provide a positive starting point for their entry to the work force.

“For so many of our associates, it’s their first experience in the working world,” he says. “They’re going to learn life-long skills. The biggest thing you get besides a paycheck is a nice summer tan.”

Earning and Spending

Teens say they have an average of $27.60 – $2.40 more than in 2003 – a week to spend on themselves, according to the 2005 Roper Youth Report, a nationwide poll from consumer research firm NOP World. Teens are increasingly choosing to spend their money on technical gadgets. The report found that 18 percent of boys aged 13 to 17 surveyed owned an MP3 player and that 37 percent owned a DVD player. Digital cameras were also popular, with 23 percent of girls aged 13 to 17 saying they owned one.

Glenn says she makes around $300 every two weeks at her part-time child-care job. She likes to spend her money on clothing.“I like dresses a lot, purses and shoes,” she says.

Gibbs says he works mainly to earn money to pay for things crucial to a lot of teenagers – gas for his car and outings with his friends. “I like to have money on the weekends,” he says. “It’s for gas and food. I basically live at Chipotle [Mexican Grill].” FN

Kids and Spending

Market research firm Harris Interactive conducted a 2004 YouthPulse survey of more than 2,000 U.S. youths aged 8 to 21, including 767 13- to 17-year-olds. The following is a sampling of questions posed to the 13- to 17-year-old survey participants.

Percentage of Teens Responding

• Do you receive money for doing chores or household work? YES - 33%
• Do you work at a paid job? YES - 24%
• Do you receive an allowance from your parents? YES - 26%
• Do your parents know nothing or only a little about what you spend your money on? YES - 29%

Source: Harris Interactive 2004 YouthPulse report

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