Tough Times for Teens Seeking Summer Jobs

Thomas West, a 15-year-old Columbia High School student, knows what he will be doing for his summer vacation. This June, the Maplewood resident will be working as a teaching assistant (a.k.a. Yellow Shirt) for the Adult School Community Summer Program at South Orange Middle School, where he will help teachers in the classroom and escort younger students from class to class.

“My mom said you need to find something to do or we're gonna drive each other crazy,” he recalls, “so she recommended that I go find out about [being a Yellow Shirt].”

Since then, West has enjoyed the job and says it's a way of getting involved in the community. “You meet a lot of people and just help the kids and see them having a lot of fun. It's very good about just interaction with kids and how to work with younger kids.”

West is perhaps one of the few lucky teens to even have work lined up for the summer, since job opportunities continue to be few for young adults nationwide. According a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a 25.4 percent unemployment rate among 16- to 19-year-olds  as of April 2010. And in a recent study conducted by SnagAJob.com, a jobs website, three out of 10 hiring managers will employ the same number of people as from last year. Those teens seeking employment are also facing competition from returning workers as well as adults affected by the economic downturn. 

“Overall, a majority of hiring managers think it will be difficult for teens to find a summer job (54 percent),” according to a SnagAJob.com press release.

Richard Cohen, co-coordinator of the Adult School Community Summer Program, knows how tight things can be during hiring time. For 45 available Yellow Shirt positions, Cohen had received about 175 applications, up from 160 last year. In better times, he would get an average between 140 and 150 applications.

“A large number of people who have worked for me last year wanted to come back this year,” Cohen says, “because they're familiar with the program. I definitely give them preference. It's been pretty tight in terms of new people. “

“This is one of the most sought after [positions],” says West. “We have a set number of Yellow Shirts based on enrollment. Only when people go to college and can’t come back that new spots open. Everyone tries to get it.”

There's a similar situation at the Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges. According to senior program director Karen Robson, the Y has received about 200 applications for 50 positions, mostly for summer camp work, and those jobs have already been filled. “I would say we normally get that kind of volume of youth applicants,” she says about the number of applications,” but we are receiving more adult applicants than ever before.”

While it's still tough for teens to find jobs, the fact that the same ratio of hiring managers who will hire this year is similar to last year is at least encouraging, according to the SnagAJob.com study.

“The good news is that hiring managers indicated, overall, that summer job hiring was expected to be no worse than last year,” says SnagAJob.com spokesperson Heather Moose. “And some positive signs since the SnagAJob.com survey was conducted include the fact that retail added 12,400 jobs last month and restaurants another 21,000 jobs. Those are both important industries for students and summer jobs, so it’s good to see them going in a positive direction again.”

For South Orange teens looking for jobs, there are some resources. The Loft, a youth services program, based in Columbia High School and run by Family Connections, helps students find a job. And as of this writing, South Orange's website has posted ads for summer camp counselor, lifeguard and pool positions through the Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs.

If a teen isn’t able to find work now for the summer, the experience of looking for a job can be beneficial for the next time around, according to SnagAJob.com spokesperson Moose. Things that teens can do to get ready for the following year, she says, include performing volunteer work and odd jobs in the neighborhood like mowing the lawn or babysitting.

“A high school student can get a jump on a summer job next year by starting to look for work in the winter,” Moose says. “If they can work part-time during the school year, they can often parlay that into more hours during the summer.”

The scarcity of summer jobs for teens has been a recent issue that has reached the federal government. Recently New York Senator Charles Schumer said that $1 billion for youth summer jobs was included in a jobs bill to be debated in the House and Senate this week. “Putting young people back to work is a proven way to help the economy, and is a goal we should be aggressively pursuing,” he said in a press release.

The importance of employing youth, especially in the South Orange community, is something that the YMCA’s Robson appreciates, since most of her applicants come from Columbia High School: “We could not be successful without them.” She also adds: “We love to hire our local youth. We have a great bind to this community.”

As for CHS student West, he will soon begin his third summer as a Yellow Shirt for the Adult School program, which starts on June 28. He says that it's good to be doing something productive. “In past years, halfway through the summer, some of my friends have found out that they have nothing to do [but sitting at home and being bored], wishing they have a job. But at this point, there is no way they can get one.”