The 10 worst jobs in America

The stresses of working at restaurants, especially, affect a substantial chunk of America: With 12.8 million estimated employees, the restaurant industry is the largest employer outside of the government, according to the National Restaurant Association. By 2017, the industry is expected to add 2 million jobs, according to association.

"The restaurant industry has been a jobs juggernaut in the economic expansion," said B. Hudson Riehle, the restaurant association's senior vice president for research and information services. "The industry has become a national training ground."

'Bad' is in the eye of the beholder

James Sherk, a fellow in labor policy at the Heritage Foundation, said a job like waiting tables can be a good opportunity.

"A lot of people are working part time and in school. The job gives the flexibility they need," Sherk said. "Somebody who just graduated from high school isn't trying to support a family of four."

Sherk should know: He worked as a lifeguard as a teenager.

"It was fun -- it was good work to do," he said. "At the same time, it doesn't shock me that I wasn't earning the equivalent of $30 an hour."

Randy Miller, the founder and chief executive of career counseling firm ReadyMinds, said bad jobs can be good training, especially if a worker wants to advance in a particular field.

"I wouldn't see anything wrong with being a host or hostess. You may work at a smaller restaurant, get the experience you need, and then go to a larger restaurant or hotel chain," Miller said. "It might be a very good starting point for someone young who has very high aspirations in that field."

It's not just young workers who are hurting

Yet for each top bad occupation, most of the workers are older than 20. For example, among wait staff, almost 17% are 16 to 19 years old, 33% are between 20 and 24, and 50% are between 25 and 64, according to Schmitt, of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Lifeguards and other protective-service workers comprise the occupation category with the highest proportion of teenagers -- almost 48%.

"Teenagers are an important part of some of the occupations, but in no case are they the majority of workers in the occupation," Schmitt said. "In most cases, teenagers are only a fairly small share of total employment."

Women who have their first baby before age 25, as well as parents and other workers between 20 and 25 years old, could use employer-sponsored health insurance, he said. Yet few are receiving it.

"A substantial number of people in that age range have family responsibilities. So having health insurance is a big deal," Schmitt said.

He added that it's also important for young people to have a defined-benefit or contribution plan: "We're constantly being reminded that people should start (retirement saving) when they start working."

Occupations with the highest concentrations of jobs classified as "bad":

• Hosts and hostesses at restaurants, lounges and coffee shops, 87%
• Counter attendants at cafeterias, food concessions and coffee shops, 87%
• Ushers, lobby attendants and ticket takers, 85.4%
• Fabric and apparel patternmakers, 82.2%
• Lifeguards and other protective-service workers, 81.6%
• Waiters and waitresses, 80.4%
• Tour and travel guides, 79.4%
• Models, demonstrators and product promoters, 79.2%
• Dishwashers, 78.8%
• Motion-picture projectionists, 78.1%

This article was reported and written by Ruth Mantell for MarketWatch.

Published Nov. 14, 2007

TAGS: JOBS - CAREERS - RESTAURANT INDUSTRY - EMPLOYERS

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