What's your teenager going to do when school ends? Sleep in until noon and play video games and take a shower just in time to make it to the mall and hang? Sounds nice to me. If your student wants to bring in some cash, though, a summer job needs to be on his plate.
But is the annual rite of passage, a June-to-August summer job, decreasing in size in our collective rearview mirror? Has rising minimum wage, stubborn unemployment and overall societal shifts altered the landscape for high school and college students?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that teens 16 to 19 filled 960,000 summer jobs in 2010, the lowest level of summer hiring since 1949.
Richard Wagner, area director with the New Mexico Workforce Connection office in Las Cruces, said times have changed, but jobs are still to be had.
"The traditional summer jobs are still out there; there are some specific jobs that hire just youths, 14 to 21," Wagner said.
Donna Volz, senior marketing director with the Merritt Group, which owns the Sonic Drive In locations in Las Cruces, said the restaurant locations started expanded summer hours this past weekend and have already begun adding more workers.
"We're having a very good year so far and need some additional help," Volz said.
Still, the problem facing summer job seekers is the same one facing everyone else.
"There're not as many jobs out there as there have been in the past," Wagner said. "Employers and agencies are making do with less and
are putting more work on individuals."
Ever since the recession hit, many employers have had to cut staff. If they are getting by with a smaller workforce, the incentive to go ahead and bring staffing levels back to pre-recession levels is missing.
"I think a lot of people will continue to do that for the foreseeable future, until things are better," Wagner said. "This economy we're in taught people a lesson to be cautious."
Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas has taken a look at the situation nationwide.
"Young jobseekers will not only compete with other teenagers, but in certain types of jobs they may compete with recent college graduates or older workers," CEO John Challenger recently told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "The key to success for teen jobseekers will be an aggressive approach."
In other words: Get up early and beat the streets, knock on doors and constantly ask friends, family, people you meet in line at the store if they know of any jobs openings.
Brook Stockberger can be reached at bstockberger@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5457
Summer job search tips
-- Start now.
-- Walk into businesses to introduce yourself and ask for job opportunities. Don't depend on just the Internet to find jobs.
-- Read Sun-News classified ad sections and business news to find businesses that are expanding.
-- Use parents, friends and other acquaintances as sources for leads.
-- Target nearby families for lawn care and home cleaning jobs.
-- Cast a wide net and don't give up easily.
