American Teens Securing High-Paying Jobs in Trump's Tight Labor Market: 'I've Never Had to Work Fast Food'

A tight labor market, thanks to President Trump’s “America First” agenda, is securing high-paying jobs for American teens who otherwise would have been pushed out of the workforce.

An extensive report by the Wall Street Journal reveals how businesses with coveted industry jobs are branching out to teenagers for employment opportunities as they face an ever-tightening labor market.

Thayer McCollum, a 17-year-old high school student, secured a job at Avionics Specialists LLC, where he works part-time. McCollum told the Wall Street Journal that he’s “never had to work fast food” like many other teenagers and says, “It’s good to know I already have employable skills.”

For teens like McCollum, Trump’s tight labor market — wherein a growing economy and stricter immigration enforcement have led disenfranchized American workers back to the labor market — has given them opportunities that would have been impossible in a flooded labor market with stagnant wages.

The Wall Street Journal noted:

The 12-month average unemployment rate for teens in March was 13.9%, the lowest year-round average since 2001 and about half that in 2010. In July 2017, the month the most teens work, unemployment for 16-through-19-year-olds fell to 13.3%, the lowest midsummer rate since 1969, when the U.S. was embroiled in the Vietnam War. [Emphasis added]

“An increasingly tight labor market is pulling many workers who had been out of the labor force back in, teens included,” said Abigail Wozniak, a University of Notre Dame labor economist. Teens might wield an advantage, she said, because they “often have better computer skills. They are not all your typical low-skilled worker.” [Emphasis added]

Other companies are looking to hire American teens in the Trump economy, such as General Electric and Michelin North America Inc.

The tight labor market is forcing General Electric, for example, to hire teens for coveted jobs, with one teenager profiled by the Wall Street Journal mentioning how he had multiple job offers at a recent job recruiting event.

Wall Street Journal reports:

“It gets very dire,” she said. “We’re willing to branch out.” For the first time, GE plant managers may consider high-school technical training toward the experience required for the jobs, she said. “Then we could bring some of them in as seniors.” [Emphasis added]

Julian Cornwall, 17, a Cincinnati high-school junior with machining skills, fielded 13 job offers. “They seemed really eager,” Julian said of the multiple companies that pursued him. “They’re all just after us.” [Emphasis added]

Breitbart News has chronicled how Trump’s tightened labor market has led to historic wage increases for American workers and job opportunities for workers who have not been in the labor market for years.

There has been history-making wage growth for American workers in the construction industry, the garment industry, for workers employed at small businesses, black Americans, and restaurant workers. The tight labor market has also secured high-paying wages for overtime workers.