Teens will find the job search difficult as long as minimum wage mandates are in place (“Teen job scene ‘dismal,’ ” May 18).

The University of Georgia in 2006 found that every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage was associated with a 4.6 percent to 9 percent decline in teenage employment in small businesses. This data bore out last summer as the 12 percent minimum wage hike corresponded with a 5 percent unemployment spike for teens.

When entry-level job hunters are not able to find work, they are denied the invisible curriculum that comes with having a first job.

– Kristen Lopez Eastlick,
Employment Policies Institute
Washington, D.C.