Thread: VIDEO: Teens wanting to work, can't find summer jobs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFEQIHJ2dBY

From ABC News Worldwide.

Teenagers want to work but there aren't any jobs available for them. Obviously the traditional jobs given to teenagers are now being taken illegal aliens. I am sure you all have started noticing that more and more adults are working at fast food restaurants speaking Spanish were traditionaly teenagers had been working.

http://www.deserttelevision.com/Global/ ... ?S=8484864

Two videos are available at the link above.

Fewer Summer Jobs for Teens

Summer is just around the corner, and if you're a teen looking for a job, you may be having a tough time. More and more Valley teens looking for work are finding that the job is already taken.

Employers are turning to older workers for positions that traditionally went to young people.

The state does not break down unemployment rates for teenagers, but it's believed to be the worst summer in more than sixty years. More experienced older workers, filling retail stores and fast food joints.

John Green, a former automotive corporate trainer in indio looking for anything. "I can't even get a job at Starbucks right now," said Green. "It's a Thursday deal to get in there."

An annual valley job fair for teens was canceled this year, when employers just didn't show up.


Summer-job market weak for teens in 2008

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/200 ... _teen.html


by Roberto Acosta | Kalamazoo Gazette
Sunday June 08, 2008, 6:01 PM

KALAMAZOO -- Herman Brooks' frustration was noticeable when talking about trying to land a summer job in Kalamazoo.

"I've applied everywhere -- McDonald's, Taco Bell, Taco Bob's, Wendy's," said Brooks, 18. "They said they would call me back, but they haven't."

Brooks' story is similar to that of many teenagers looking to land a spot in the shrinking job market this summer.

As the forces of economic downturn ripple widely across the United States, the job market for teenagers looking for summer work is shaping up as the weakest in more than half a century, according to labor economists, government data and companies that hire young people.

Little more than one-third of the 16- to 19-year-olds in the United States are likely to be employed this summer, the smallest share since the government began tracking teenage work in 1948, according to a research paper published by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston.

The drop is a sharp one when compared to the summer of 2000, when 45 percent of teenagers were employed.

The Michigan labor department estimates one in four teens will go jobless this summer.

There has been a downward trend in Michigan teen labor since 2000, said Jeff Aula, an economic analyst with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.

Aula said a number of factors are playing a part in the forecasted decline of 8,200 teen jobs this summer.

"Teens are going to run into competition from older adults looking for work this summer," Aula said.

Older teens taking summer college classes and discouragement from previous failed job searches stop some teens from even looking, Aula said.

Lack of experience and choice are some of the perceived barriers for 16-year old Melania Rocha, who is looking for work in an office setting or at a retail store.

"Most of the jobs for teenagers are fast-food places," said Rocha, a Loy Norrix student entering her senior year this fall. "At offices, they want grown-ups and people with experience."

Retailers, a major source of summer jobs, are grappling with a loss of consumer spending power and are pulling back on hiring as a result.

Restaurants, also big employers of teenagers, are adding jobs at a slower pace than in previous summers, said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president for research at the National Restaurant Association in Washington.

"We always employ more teens in the summer," said Mark Peterson, supervisor for Bennett Management, which runs six Burger King restaurants in the Kalamazoo area.

Although Peterson said he doesn't predict a drop in the number of teens his stores employ this summer, he admitted that "the job pool is more than just teenagers. More adults are looking for work."

Brooks, meanwhile, is still looking for a job. He finds that in some cases he is being turned away by prospective employers before he fills out an application.

"They said they aren't hiring anybody," Brooks said. "It's hard for me. I want to work."