BLOG: 'Recovery' Summer

As we enter into our third "Recovery Summer," people continually complain about the 10.9 percent unemployment rate here in California. What most people don't pay attention to is the staggering 34 percent unemployment rate for minors. This means one in every three minors who are applying for jobs won't get one.

With thousands of others with the same classification of "low-skilled" and "low-wage" workers attempting to obtain the simplest of positions, one would be lucky to even walk the neighbor's dog.

So why should we care about this inexperienced group that doesn't have bills to pay and kids to feed? All one has to do is look at Spain to see the road that awaits us. With an unemployment rate of 24.1 percent and a youth unemployment rate of 50 percent, Spain's economy is on life support. The news there is awash with stories of college graduates who had no other choice but to continue their education by getting other degrees because they still couldn't find work. Even worse is the fact that many of these accredited graduates are leaving their home country to find work abroad, further weakening the Spanish economy.

Back in the U.S., while the private sector can take most of the blame for its lack of interest in teens, the government and its agencies are also part of the problem. The government slaps on quite a bit of red tape for those seeking work at the age of 16. We have to make sure that the jobs we are considering comply with federal law. I won't go too much into detail other than the fact that we can not work in jobs that are deemed "hazardous." Other than that, the fed allows unlimited work hours once we turn 16.

Unfortunately, this is where the state's red tape comes in. The state only allows us to work between 5 a.m.-10 p.m., only eight hours a day in the summer. The entire mess is here. Then we have to get a work permit from CUSD unless the job is within the exclusions in state law, which are again within this mess.

Even if we are lucky to find the perfect job, we must take two major factors into account. First, we must remind ourselves of the adult unemployment rate which is still at 10.9 percent in California. Secondly, we must consider the fact that according to the most recent data from the Department of Education, only 44.9 percent of CUSD graduates leave high school with the required courses to attend a UC/CSU. We can then assume that each available job will receive a minimum of 10 applications. Most of those applications will probably be coming from people who have dimplomas and degrees. So in the end, your chances of getting the job aren't even worth your time.

Then again, once the disappointment wears off, you realize that there’s nothing better than leeching off of your parents, tax-free.