Meet the new fast-food worker: Older, and more educated

Due to the lingering effects of the Great Recession, the Hollywood image of the care-free, freckle-faced, teenage hamburger flipper is no longer the norm. Only 16 percent of fast food industry jobs now go to teens, down from 25 percent a decade ago.

And many of the older workers are educated. More than 42 percent of restaurant and fast-food employees over the age of 25 have at least some college education, including 753,000 with a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In many cases, teens have been squeezed out of the workforce before they even begin. While the overall U.S. population posted an unemployment rate of 7.6 in March, for teenagers 16 through 19, it was 24.2 percent, according to the BLS.

“Young people have been hit very hard by this downturn,” said Harry Holzer, a professor of public policy at Georgetown University. Studies show a worker’s most rapid wage growth happens in the 5 to 10 years after graduation as you switch jobs and find what you’re good at, Holzer said. “That whole process is disrupted by this downturn.”