Page 11 - aruba-today-20220611

A11
business Saturday 11 June 2022
A summer job: Good for the teenage soul and wallet

By TOMMY TINDALL of Nerd- want."
Wallet It's a delicate balance be-
It's been a rough couple tween needs and wants,
of years, especially for says Thomas, who encour-
teenagers. Between the ages his students, espe-
shutdowns and the shift cially those with obligations
to contactless everything to help with household ex-
— including education — penses, to openly discuss
adolescents got a pretty money matters with family
raw deal. They could use and mentors like him.
a break this summer. Actu- "Having those conversa-
ally, they could use a job. tions is important because
There's good news for teen- they have to understand
agers ready to work. Unem- how to get the most out of
ployment is under 4% over- their money," he says.
all, and the rate for teens MONEY BASICS, NOT MEME
16-19 was just over 10% in STOCKS
April, according to data Parents can push these
from the U.S. Bureau of La- paycheck basics:
bor Statistics. And the "help — Pay your teenage self
wanted" signs hanging in first. At 17, that's as simple
the storefronts of so many as socking away $50 a
businesses drive the point A sign advertises for help at The Goldenrod, a popular restaurant and candy shop, Wednesday, month in savings.
home. June 1, 2022, in York Beach, Maine. — Spend less than you
It could be a prime time Associated Press make. It's the first step of fi-
for kids on break to fill the nancial freedom.
void, earn a wage and of his students have taken tin says. and necessary right now. — Take steps to establish
learn some life skills along fast food jobs that start at With kids everywhere on "When we stay mindful in credit early. Brave parents
the way. $12 an hour. That's a few edge, a classic summer the moment, we are pres- can add their teen worker
A (TEENAGE) WORKERS bucks better than the fed- job, like lifeguard, restau- ent with the activity. We're as an authorized user of an
MARKET eral minimum wage. rant server, camp counsel- shutting out all the chat- existing credit card.
The hot job market applies A CURE FOR THE COMMON or or cashier, could sub as ter of the craziness of the Play to your kids' finan-
to teenagers too, says Cor- CONFIDENCE PROBLEM a master class on human world. And we're realizing, cial interests too. Some of
nelius Thomas, a career Opportunity knocks at a interaction, in real life. 'I can accomplish this task Sproule's students want to
development coordinator time when kids could use a MINDFULNESS OVER MEDIA and I can feel good,'" she talk about cryptocurren-
at Smithfield-Selma High boost. While it may be instinctive says. cies, and that opens the
School in Smithfield, North The last couple of years for parents to shield their A PAYCHECK PREVAILS door for the never-too-soon
Carolina. took a toll on teen confi- kids from another source While mindfulness is bliss, "investing for your future"
Thomas, whose role keeps dence, says Jennie Marie of stress, the summer job money is motivation. chat. It's also a good time
him connected with local Battistin, a licensed mar- might actually help teens "A lot of the students that to tell them the GameStop
employers, has seen the riage and family therapist escape some of the pres- I work with are interested saga of 2021 was a fluke.
leverage turn to the stu- based in the greater Los sures of today. in jobs primarily for the Ultimately, the practical ex-
dent worker as of late. "It's Angeles area. She says it's That's because they're paycheck," says Margaret periences with money help
become more and more not uncommon for ordinary signing off social media, Sproule, a career coach cut through the noise and
common for employers to interactions, like speaking engaging with co-workers at Radford High School alleviate the angst that so
reach out to career devel- to a server at a restaurant and making connections in in Radford, Virginia. But many teens have about
opment coordinators with or checking out at a gro- the real world, Battistin says. their spending goals have the next stage of life, Bat-
incentivized opportunities cery store, to feel uncom- "They're learning practical evolved with the times. tistin says.
for students," he says. fortable. tasks. That helps their brain They're after "some discre- "They're starting to build
The positions can be lucra- "Having an outside job kind of just stay mindful and tionary money so that they confidence that, 'I can op-
tive too. He says internships helps bring confidence in present in that moment." can help with their phones, erate out in the real world
now come with pay more that they can talk to others Battistin makes the idea of or their gaming systems financially and make good
often than not, and some in the outside world," Battis- mindfulness feel attainable and the games that they decisions,'" she says.q

NLRB denies Amazon's ask to close

union hearing to public

By HALELUYA HADERO open to the public. But the ing in, or whether the hear-
AP Business Writer Seattle-based company ing is being recorded and
A federal labor board has filed a motion Tuesday ar- shared with others, which
denied Amazon's request guing the agency should the labor board prohibits.
to bar the public from a make the hearing on the The hearing, which begins
hearing on the company's Staten Island union vote Monday, is expected to
bid to overturn a historic private because it will be last several days.
union win at one of its Stat- held over Zoom. On Thursday, Cornele Over-
en Island, New York, ware- Amazon argued that a street, a regional director
houses. Zoom hearing makes dif- with the NLRB field office
People arrive for work at the Amazon distribution center in the Hearings by the National ficult to know if witnesses who will oversee the hear-
Staten Island borough of New York, on Oct. 25, 2021. Labor Relations Board are who aren't supposed to ob- ing, denied the company's
Associated Press
typically held in person and serve the hearing are listen- request. q