Higher wages, fewer summer jobs

To the editor:

Unfortunately for young people, one of the prime causes of the declining summer job market for teenagers is mandated wage increases ("National unemployment rates may not affect local students looking for summer jobs," June 17).

According to economist David Neumark of the University of California-Irvine, for every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, employment for high school dropouts and young black adults and teenagers falls by 8.5 percent. In just the past few years, Missouri's minimum wage has jumped almost three times that amount.

You don't need a business degree to understand why the wage increases affect teen employment.

The classic summer jobs -- cashier, restaurant waiter and grocery clerk -- can help an employer who has increased business or a need to cover for full-time employees taking vacations or sick leave. But when government mandates add to labor costs by artificially boosting wages, employers are more likely to hold off on hiring people to fill such flexible slots.

KRISTEN LOPEZ EASTLICK, Economic Analyst, Employment Policies Institute, Washington, D.C.