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Cost of Living Increases Across the US Forcing Many to Find Summer Jobs
With summer in full swing, it appears that many Americans are turning to summer jobs in order to make more money to supplement their primary jobs and income. According to a survey of 425 adults in Texas by Indeed Flex, “In Texas, nearly half (47%) are interested in pursuing retail positions this summer, followed by restaurant/bar jobs (34%), hospitality (29%), event staff jobs (28%), administrative positions (27%) and factory work (21%).”
The cost of living in the U.S. has increased in recent years and put additional costs and pressures on adults both with and without families to take care of.
Results from Indeed’s survey point out that, “Two-thirds (67%) want extra income for personal expenses. One-third of Texans plan to use their extra income to finance a summer trip (35%), while 23% will put their income toward school tuition.”
Stacey Lane, general manager of Indeed Flex U.S. also adds, “During the summer, many people are looking for extra work to save for trips, supplement their income or have a more flexible schedule.”
As informative as this survey is, it’s still a small sample and does not take into account the additional influx of American teenagers who will be entering the job market this summer. “Approximately 1 in 5 hires this year” will be teenagers, according to data statistics provided by Gusto, a payroll services company.
Furthermore, Gusto predicts that “employment among 15-19 year-olds is forecast to grow by 17% in June, compared to 19% in June of 2022.”
Although teenagers are predicted to occupy job roles in the food service industry, amusement parks, malls, and hotels, there might still be worker shortages in certain areas where the demand for hires cannot yet be fulfilled.
This skewed hiring process is evident in cases where “some employers prefer to hire teens during the current bout of high inflation because they’re less expensive than 25- to 54-year-olds, who are set to earn an average of $23 per hour this summer, up 2% from last year.”
In any combination of these cases, it’s poised to be a season that might see adults competing for summer jobs against younger American teens. While adults are in need of extra finances to support their families, teenagers are looking for summer jobs to accumulate cash to satisfy their shopping needs or recreational hobbies.
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Does the growing need for additional income signal that many Americans will not be able to keep up with inflation and higher costs of living, leading to more negative repercussions? How can employers help contribute to Americans’ needs for additional income toward basic needs?
Poll
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The phenomenon of cost-of-living growing faster than middle-income wage growth has been happening for decades. In the last two years, middle-income families have seen some real wage growth of 4% to 5%. However, not as much as inflation.
What can employers do to contribute toward basic needs? They can start by increasing pay. They can increase healthcare packages to minimize or eliminate employee contributions. And, please, don’t flim-flam your employees with fluff benefits.
Does that mean prices continue to go up? Maybe? But we are seeing record profits from companies that deal with the public, not to mention record C-suite payouts.
This is great news for the understaffed frontline retail industry! The challenge, then, becomes how to turn these seasonal employees into brand advocates. How to get them to be as invested as full time employees.
Gratis incentive programs can go a long way towards establishing personal connections between seasonal employees and the inventory being sold. It’s also exciting to see department stores embracing employees’ use of social media to service their brands and bring foot traffic to stores.
If retailers play their cards right, these seasonal employees will stay on call after crunch time to reduce staffing shortages down the line. Beyond staffing concerns, seasonal/temp hires that have good experiences can become brand advocates for life. Hiring next gets is a great way to tap into a younger customer base, provided they’re treated properly.
Thanks to recent years of inflation, supply chain and gasoline increases, we’ve got a middle and lower class needing wage increases to catch up, or who are looking to find different jobs.
Retailers with stores across the USA must shed temptation to keep one-size-fits-all pay rates in place, and proactively provide wage increases to markets where cost of living has gone up the most. Doing this ensures you attract good people to retail. Good people take pride in ownership, live the brand culture, and increase sales.
Summer jobs are getting harder to find. Fast food used to be a solid go-to for kids to earn part time spending money. The entire QSR industry was built on this low wage, part time worker model. Today those jobs are being taken by workers who often take on two or more part time jobs to create one full time income. QSR businesses are turning to technology to replace more workers to offset the higher wages they are having to pay — ironically making it even harder for part time summer jobs to be found.
Adults competing with teens for part-time jobs is an indication of things to come in this inflationary economy. If families are looking for help to make ends meet now, the holiday season may be challenging.
To help with Summer activities, many companies offer discount programs through preferred partners such as car rentals, museums or theme parks. Often, employees are unaware of available company discounts. Summertime is a good time for companies to remind employees about these programs.
In additionn to discounts and perks, companies can help employees by ensuring they are maximizing pretax savings. Further, companies can help by sharing in costs for tuition, student loans or even with preferred partners who can offer lower interest rates on home loans.