Why teens have a tough time finding summer work

[Jim Warren]

Is it true? Who knows, but my 18yo son says he has had no luck so far in the local MA job search. How is your summer job teen doing?


http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070612/ts_csm/asummerjobs

Boston - This summer is shaping up as a tough one for many of America's youngest job seekers.

teen employment rates haven't rebounded from the recession of 2001. Instead, these numbers are at historic lows.
The reasons include positive forces, such as the rise of new opportunities for summer education and community service. But the trend also reflects more competition from older workers for a shrinking pool of entry-level jobs.

In Boston, 17-year-old Dedric Due says he's scanning the newspaper ads for a job, and so far hasn't found one. With a self-confident bearing, he says he'd like to be an assistant music teacher. But just about anything, from construction to retail, would do. "I'd do whatever job would make me money," he says.

The cooler job market for teens is a challenge not just for them, but perhaps for the whole economy. That's because the young generation is the future workforce.
"How do you learn ? You spend time in the workplace," says Andrew Sum, an economist at Northeastern University in Boston. "Fewer kids are getting serious work experience during their high school years."

EDIT: meant this to go in GD....mods?

[phantom power]

1. But the GDP! The GDP is so *healthy*!

:eyes:

[ellisonz]

2. It is very difficult.

Why teens have a tough time finding summer work
Many are enrolling in summer classes or doing community service while others are squeezed out by adults competing for the same entry-level jobs.
By Mark Trumbull | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Page 1 of 4

Boston - This summer is shaping up as a tough one for many of America's youngest job seekers.

Camps still need counselors. Ice cream shops still need young arms with a knack for alternating between a scoop and a cash register. And the nation's job market is strong.

Yet teen employment rates haven't rebounded from the recession of 2001. Instead, these numbers are at historic lows.

The reasons include positive forces, such as the rise of new opportunities for summer education and community service. But the trend also reflects more competition from older workers for a shrinking pool of entry-level jobs.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0612/p01s03-usec.html

[whistle]

3. If teens are on the streets in mass this summer there will be problems

...remeber Bush's economy is made up of fake numbers and the real unempolyment rate is at least twice the official rate and could be much much higher.

[ellisonz]

30. Wait for it...

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

And I'm 20 years old. The problem with this country is not the young people, the problem is the parents. Y'all made this country the way it is and it's up to y'all to fix it. I think the one's who aren't hooked on meth or binge drinking are too busy chasing ass to give a shit. That's not to say there aren't some brilliant young activists out there, but the essential problems of political-economy cannot be solved by our generation at this time. C'mon parental units, you can do it! <snark>

:evilfrown:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. When I was a kid,

the paper boys were that--kids like my brother, who had routes they covered on their bikes or on foot. Now paper routes are the venue of adults, usually in tired old cars. Supermarket jobs, even baggers, are often older folks now, trying to supplement their pensions. My brother started work at age 9, first as a paper boy and then at a supermarket. Don't think kids of today can find jobs like these.

[sandnsea]

5. Adults have those jobs

You know, the jobs Americans won't do. :eyes:

[Breeze54]

6. My son has been employed P-T since 9th grade.

I made him get a job then, for just that reason, besides needing spending cash.
You want it? You have to earn it. Now that he's graduated, they're offering him
a full-time position! Wrentham Outlets is hiring and a lot of the malls and restaurants.
I've seen a lot of help wanted signs but kids have to start looking way before
school gets out!! Otherwise they're competing with the college crew.

Good luck to him! What part of the state is he looking? If I see anything I'll PM you! ;)

PS. A lot of part-time jobs are NOT advertised in the newspaper. They hang signs on their doors.

[notadmblnd]

7. My 14 year old is working along side the hispanics

doing landscaping for 10 dollars an hour after school and on weekends. The guy he works for can't find enough people to fill the jobs.

on edit: I encouraged him to take this job because I want him to decide that this kind of backbreaking work is not what he wants to spend his life doing.

[fed-up]

13. my bofriend is an organic farmer and takes pride in his back-breaking work

and has no problem finding local college students to work part-time. My boyfriend is very physically fit at 52 and does not need to pay outrageous dues to a health club to get a workout and stay healthy.

Farming is a noble profession and at least he earns his money honestly and contributes to the health of our community instead of doing a job that is harmful to our planet.

[notadmblnd]

28. of course he does, my son does too

and part of the reason he wanted to to this is to work on his fitness. But I've seen the toll difficult physical labor has taken on those who have spent their lifetimes doing it. My husband whose parents were sharecroppers told me stories about picking and hauling cotton from sun up till sundown. And it is honorable work for anyone who wants to do it.

But I do want my son to have choices, and I do want him to realize that sitting in a classroom and getting his education might just get him a big $$ job as a landscape designer or the ability to to have his own company. But if he decides that he truly loves to spend his days shoveling dirt or digging ditches or hauling garbage, I still be proud of him and he'll know that he was given the choice.

[ingac70]

8. Why hire kids, when undocumented labor is more reliable?

That's the mode of thinking among employers.

[JDPriestly]

9. You said it. Undocumented workers are the

soda jerks and babysitters today.

[Bjornsdotter]

10. I have two teens

Very, very difficult. The 19 year old has one, but never works more than 2 days a week, the almost 18 year can't get one. She has filled out at least 25 applications.....nada. She has a lot of experience for a teen her age, her high school made community service mandatory, she has great references.

It's not just your teen...

Cheers

[RaleighNCDUer]

18. I wonder, if there wasn't this modern trend of having 'community

service' a mandatory part of so many school curriculums, giving the recipients free labor, would there be more paying jobs available?

[Bjornsdotter]

23. I don't think so

....but our school is the only one in the area that does it. As it is a private school and the kids are scattered I don't think it effects our community. My kids are applying for jobs 25-40 miles away from their former HS.

Plus the community service the kids had to perform had to benefit the local community or the elderly. My son taught ice-skating to the kids from Special Olympics and worked at a nursing home. My daughter worked at a nursing home and a park district 15 miles away. They have been applying at retail stores and fast food places, so there is no conflict between paying jobs and volunteer work.

However, it could be different for those in other areas.

Cheers

[kineneb]

27. probably not

The teens I work with do such things as clean up garbage (serious garbage - one site, 2 pickup beds full!), assist service clubs with their fundraising projects, clean up brush for fire prevention on a nature reserve, etc.

None of these would have been paying jobs, but the teens got their community service time done.

[fed-up]

11. my 18YO son just got a job as a graveyard taxi dispatcher-6 blocks from home!

He likes it as it works well with his summer school schedule and he can do homework on the job.

He has had other part-time jobs during highschool. Pruning vineyards, harvesting on boyfriend's organic farm, waving for a tax service company (in an Uncle Sam costume-and yes, he got flipped off quite a few times), dishwashing in a restaurant and sweeping/cleaning for a sheet metal company.

[Breeze54]

12. Cool!! Congrats!

My son's job is almost a spit away! :P Makes it easy to get to in the winter
and his school bus stops there after school, when he was still in school.

[JDPriestly]

14. These are great jobs.

I worked a lot as a teenager at babysitting and restaurant work. I learned so much about how to work with other people and other useful things. Teenagers get a lot more than a paycheck from these entry level jobs. More American teenagers should work. It isn't just about the money. But it is great to earn your own money.

[Zodiak]

15. Adults and undocumented workers

I am hard-pressed in my area to find any teenagers in the fast-food joints. Same goes for lawn-mowers.

Those were jobs we had back in the day.

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. I P/T at a movie theater to supplement my abyssmal state pay check.

At that theater we have 24 employees, not counting the manager. 3 are seniors, supplementing their retirement. 5 are, like myself, 50+ who don't make enough at their F/T jobs (except the one who went F/T at the theater when she lost her job, and savings, with the WorldCom collapse). 6 more are 25-50, usually supplementing their primary job, except two Asst. Mgrs. for whom this is their only income. 10 are 16-24, the normal theater employee demographic. 5 are still in HS, 5 are college or community college students.

We've hired exactly 2 kids in the past month, for the summer rush. I feel badly that I am taking a job away from some deserving teen, but I need to pay my rent, too.

[tammywammy]

17. I was lucky

There's two amusement parks in the city I live in, a regular roller coaster place and a water park.

A few of us worked there during the summer. At the same time, a lot of other teenagers looked down upon people that worked at Six Flags. :shrug:

[Breeze54]

21. Some 'elite' kids, in this small town, made fun of my son for working at

the local grocery store too. Idiots. Spoiled little shits.
They aren't laughing now but a lot are looking for jobs! :P
And he's laughing all the way to the bank! ;)

[tammywammy]

22. Yep

Well, hell, even I didn't want to work there at first. I thought I was better than that, but my parents forced to me to there.

I ended up working there for three years, including during the school year. When I left after the summer of 1999, I was making $9/hr and a step below the full-time supervisors. :)

[Breeze54]

24. Good for you! That's the way to do it!!

You're way ahead of the other kids now! My son didn't want to go to work either
but it's been really good for him! he has earned a 'gold' badge now (oooh! lol) ;)
and is now a 'Customer Service Specialist' and he just got another raise too, like you!
He may take that full-time job, while he's looking for an electrical apprenticeship.
Great benefits too! Including health insurance and paid vacations!

[tammywammy]

25. Working there definitely helped me in the long run

I was the customer service supervisor for a year, and hell if you can take people yelling at you b/c the water fountain water is too warm (in August in Texas), you can take just about anything. :)

It's all character building when you're that age.

[Breeze54]

26. I agree totally!

He was really shy at 14 and was picked on in junior high and so he was afraid to 'step out'
and be seen but this job helped him overcome that and built his confidence up and he is such
a different and self confident person now. I'm proud of him! :) He's done well.

[Catchawave]

19. My kids were lifeguards

in high school and college. Best paying job in the world for teens :)

Otherwise, kids just have to hit the pavement. Most family style restaurants will hire kids as young as 14 to bus tables. If they like animals, go visit all the local vets, boarding kennels and shelters.

First rule of "job experience", finding the job. First one's the hardest, so volunteering as a C.I.T. (counselor in training) at a Y camp is the sort of thing younger teens can do to build a resume. Good Luck!

[LiberalEsto]

20. Pools are looking for lifeguards

Not that many kids want to be lifeguards these days, but they are in demand in Maryland. Both my kids started as pool aides at 14 and worked as guards through their teen years. My older one even helped coach a swim team for 2 summers.

[BreweryYardRat]

29. It's fucking miserable even for college students.

God help you if you didn't get a McJob somewhere during high school (my situation), because everywhere decent requires some kind of experience.

[PA Democrat]

31. My son started looking this past December.

After a lot of applications and one interview, he got nothing.

This spring, he went door to door in our neighborhood with fliers offering to cut lawns for $20 to $25. He has 5 customers right now, so at least it's something until the weather gets cold and grass stops growing.