After several dismal years for seasonal employment, youth may get a break this summer. There may be more jobs to find this year. According to a recent survey of seasonal hiring managers by Ipsos, nearly seven of every 10 businesses plan to hire folks this summer. Businesses that typically hire summer workers say they’re going to hire more this year than they did last year. While that’s great for teens, some experts advise caution. Those rosy hiring plans could be impacted by the governmental sequester, which could make companies more reluctant to dole out more money. “It’s a mixed picture,” says Harry Holzer, a professor of public policy at Georgetown University. Regardless, teen job-seekers could use whatever encouragement they can get. While the overall unemployment rate has sunk to 7.7 percent recently, youth always have had a harder time finding work than the average job seeker. Even as more Americans were finding work in February, the unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds remained at 25.1 percent. (NBC News)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and two children. Follow him on Twitter.