The older you get, the more you work. Starting at age 12, about half of American youths engage in some type of work activity. That percentage of kids who work increases from age 14 to age 15, after that young people tend to move from freelance work – such as baby sitting and lawn mowing – into more formal, ongoing employment type jobs. By the time they finish 12th grade, the National Research Council states that 80% of youth report holding a job at some point during their high school years.

The youth labor force always grows sharply between April and July every year with high school and college students getting summer jobs. Last summer the U.S. Department of Labor reported that two-thirds of youth ages 16 to 24 were working or looking for work. However, the summertime youth employment rate (or the proportion of kids working) has actually been trending down since the early 1990s.

How does that happen? More and more kids working each summer – number of – yet a smaller and smaller percentage of youth working? Ahhh... Behold the power of generational demographics and the shear size of the Millennial Generation (born 1980-2000). Plus, with all the academic accountability being pushed during the normal school year, more and more kids are going to summer school. This increasing interest in summertime scholastic enrichment has actually resulted in a decrease in the percentage of youth working each summer since 1994 – according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only about half of the youth enrolled in summer school were in the labor force in July last year, compared with about three-fourths of those not taking summer school.

We used to close schools in the summer so kids could go home and help out on the farm. Today we just close schools in the summer because that's what we've always done. In fact only 6 percent of the kids working in 2002 were farming. The National Consumers League even warns that agricultural field work or processing is one of the top five worst jobs for teens. Most kids end up working food service, sales/retail, handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and other service labor jobs.

Having to pay more and more for gas and even ketchup might motivate more high school students to get jobs this summer. The rising cost of a college education also seems to be motivating high

ThanksUSA is providing college scholarships of up to $5,000 per year for the children and spouses of active duty military personnel – note that the applications deadline is May 29, 2006. They're also offering a nationwide treasure hunt to raise historical awareness along with funds for the scholarship program. Yet most of the scholarship money is already on-hand, thanks to a widely supported move by the U.S. Congress late last year.

To participate in the treasure hunt, you need the official set of ThanksUSA treasure hunting clues (available on May 29, 2006), access to the Internet or a library, and your own energy for pursuing clues to unlock the mysteries found in the riddles, puzzles and questions. The "hunt" will debut on May 29, 2006, and family oriented prizes for each of the 12 stages will include a vacation to Universal Studios and Disney World in Orlando, FL, a visit to the pyramids in Egypt and a trip to the 2007 Super Bowl. Only U.S. citizens can win any of these prizes.

ThanksUSA is non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) effort to mobilize Americans of all ages to "thank" the men and women of the United States armed forces. Information and applications for both the scholarships and the treasure hunt can be found at http://www.ThanksUSA.org.