Teen Employment is Shocking

I got my first job as a 16 year old teen in 1978 making $2.65 an hour busing tables in a restaurant. What is shocking to me is that teen employment (16-19 years of age) has dropped substantially after peaking in the late 1970's around 12 million.  Today the number of teens in the workforce has dropped below 6 million which is a 50% decrease since the late 1970's.