The Associated Press highlights the problem of teen unemployment in piece published today.  StateImpact devoted significant time to the issue earlier this year, not long after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data showing Idaho has one of the highest teen unemployment rates in the nation. Idaho’s teen unemployment rate was nearly 30 percent in 2011, BLS calculations showed.  Andrew Sum of Northeastern University’s Center for Labor Market Studies stresses that Idaho, more than many states, has watched its teen labor force decline in recent years. “In Idaho, if you went back to the late 1990s, you would have found that pretty close to 52 out of every 100 teenagers had a job in a given month,” he says.  “Idaho ranked about 15th highest in the nation at that time.” Then, Sum says, teen employment began to deteriorate.  By last year, only 28 of every 100 teenagers had a job/Molly Messick, StateImpact. More here.

Question: Did you have trouble finding a summer job during your teen years?