Businesses across the country are turning to teens as young as 14 to cope with a dire labor shortage, with one McDonald's in Oregon drawing attention with a huge banner touting the new policy.

The McDonald's franchise in Medford hung the banner after finding that raising the minimum wage to $15 didn't bring in many new applications, but opening the door to younger applicants did, operator Heather Coleman told Business Insider. 

Other businesses nationwide are making similar moves, including a Burger King in Ohio that posted a sign reading: 'Hey Parents!!! Do you have a 14 or 15 year old? Do they need a job?? We will hire them!'

US federal law set the minimum working age at 14, with limits on working hours for those under 16 and prohibitions on hazardous jobs for anyone under 18. Some states have their own rules setting a higher minimum work age.

Federal rules allow 14-year-olds to do work such as office and clerical work, cooking with an electric or gas grill, cashiering, price marking and bagging. 

As the country suffers from a labor shortage, with a record 10.1 million job openings, more companies are turning to eager teenagers to fill jobs.

'They have the drive and work ethic. They get the technology. They catch on really quickly,' Coleman, the operator of the Oregon McDonald's, told Business Insider. 

'There are always staffing issues, but this is unheard of,' she said. 

In Texas, Layne's Chicken Fingers is paying teenage managerial workers $50,000 salaries to try and retain talent amid a huge staff shortage.