In a Tough Job Market, Teens Are Suffering Most

The Great Recession has been particularly uncool to teens. Fewer work than ever before. Is this hurting their future?

Matt Eich / Luceo for TIME

Torin Liberthson-Brown, 17, was laid off from the day-care job she held for two years

Juan Iraheta, 19, and Delaney Allen-Mills, 17, have little in common. Iraheta dropped out of school in 10th grade. He lives on the outskirts of Washington with his girlfriend and their 2-year-old son. Allen-Mills lives with her parents in McLean, Va., an upper-middle-class suburb of the nation's capital. She's a senior in high school, takes photographs for the school newspaper and is applying to college. What the two teens share is a lack of employment opportunities — both Iraheta and Allen-Mills have struggled to find work.

Last year, Iraheta was working for electronics...

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