The chief executive officer of the Indiana Youth Institute says summer teen employment could return to pre-recession levels this summer. Bill Stanczykiewicz says the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting more openings at businesses that tend to hire teenagers including restaurants, amusement parks and landscaping companies. He says increased employment benefits teens beyond a paycheck.

Stanczykiewicz says in 2007 there were about 1.7 million summer jobs available for teenagers. In 2010, he says the number “cratered” to less than one million, which was among the worst numbers since the government began keeping those records.

In addition to learning soft skills, Stanczykiewicz says the improving summer employment situation also benefits the state economy because teenagers tend to spend their money quickly.

Source: Indiana Youth Institute, Inside INdiana Business