Far fewer teens are working now than they did 20 years ago, according to the U.S. Labor Department, which reported almost 60% of teens had a job in 1979 compared to 34% in 2015.
For some teens, it’s due to a lack of transportation and reluctance to obtain a driver’s license and for others it’s generally an affluence issue, according Tamra Kennedy, who runs several Taco John’s restaurants in the Midwest.
“We worked hard as a generation to earn the things that we have and we want to pass that on to the next generation,” Kennedy told Stuart Varney on “Varney & Co.” on Wednesday.
Even so, Kennedy said she’s having difficulties finding teenagers to fill jobs at her fast-food franchises, and is putting the onus on the fast-food industry to fix the problem.
“We have a PR problem in fast food,” she said. “We need to up our game and do a better job talking about why taking a job in a restaurant is a good idea.”
