ROGERS, Ark. — Young adults and teens are skipping out on vacation and embracing the grind this summer.
A report by the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Research Institute looked at U.S. payroll data from 25 million workers to conclude that a third of new hires in the summer are between the ages of 16 and 22. The institute claims that pay is strong and hiring is up for young workers this season.
In Arkansas, the data is seen through the teens mowing lawns or apprentices picking up the hammer to learn a trade.
Tommy Kendall of Rogers is 16 years old and decided he’d find a part-time job this summer.
“You got to get that money. You got to get them greens,” Tommy said.
Tommy found a job for a local retirement home where he’ll serve residents working in the kitchen. His mother, Angel Kendall, helped him with his job search. She said it was especially important to find a safe place for her son due to his autism.
“He’s heat intolerant, so we have to find something indoors, so it limited our search,” Angel explained. “We helped out at Rogers High School, volunteering to help the tornado victims, and we were bussing tables, and he was enjoying it so much that I thought, Well, maybe he could do that as a job this summer.”
He’s joining an industry that sees many young workers. According to the report, the leisure/hospitality workforce consistently hires young, with 38% of May’s new hires being between 16 and 22.
Angel says it’s hard to see him become independent but knows it’s an important step in his growth. She hopes it teaches him responsibility, gives him some independence, and helps him make some friends.
Tommy also sees this as an important first step…to saving for the ride of his dreams: “A 1970s or 2018 Dodge Charger.”
