The figures, published in a Statistics Denmark report on Thursday, show that supermarkets are the biggest employer of under-18s in the country.

Some 38,000 people under the age of 18 received pay cheques from a supermarket or hypermarket (such as the large out-of-town Bilka stores) in 2021.

That is around 32 percent of all juniors who are employed in Denmark.

“It’s a strong community, also outside of work. They feel that they make a difference in customers’ daily lives and they get ongoing feedback which means a lot to them,” Louise Gade, HR director with Salling Group, told news wire Ritzau.

Salling is the largest supermarket company in Denmark and owns Bilka along with the Føtex and Netto chains.

Young staff are given additional responsibilities at work in stores when they do well, which helps them to thrive, Gade also said.

Although supermarkets are most popular overall for young people who take part time jobs, they do not always come top if the age groups are further broken down.

Danish law allows youngsters aged under 15 to work for up to two hours on schooldays and seven hours per day at the weekend, while people aged 15 or over can work up to two hours on schooldays and eight hours per day at the weekend.

While 16-17 year-olds most commonly work in supermarkets, people aged 13-15 are more likely to work on paper rounds delivering advertisements or newspapers.

Other sectors in which teenagers work include restaurants, retail, sport, agriculture and childcare.

The numbers show that, overall, 34.9 percent of all young people aged 13-17 had a job in Denmark in 2021. That corresponds to 119,500 people, which is approximately 10,000 more than in 2020.

Some 47,200 were between 13 and 15 years old, while 72,300 were aged 16 or 17.