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From hazy days spent lifeguarding at the local swimming hole to doling out endless soft-serve ice cream cones, summer means millions of teens across the U.S. are getting to work.

Around 6 million people aged 16 to 19 will work this summer, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The rest of the year, employment levels for these teens hover around 4 million to 5 million, so an additional 1 million to 2 million teens usually get jobs during the summer.

Each month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Employment Situation report. This report includes about two dozen distinct datasets that can help economists, journalists and the public understand the health of the nation’s economy. It’s where to find monthly changes to the number of people employed and the unemployment rate, and it’s a report that’s widely covered in the media, but isn’t always covered with much context.

When the economy enters a recession, pundits are quick to trot out unemployment numbers to argue about the health of the economy or the success of the government’s response.

Of course, job loss should be front and center when talking about the economy, but companies have more options than just hiring and firing employees.

More newborn babies suffer from drug withdrawal in counties where there are shortages of mental health care providers, higher rates of long-term unemployment and higher proportions of manufacturing jobs, according to new research published in JAMA.