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Teens find part-time jobs hard to come by

11/1/2009 2:28:40 PM

Comments (23)

By Matthew Stolle

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

During a three-month period, Brianna Jones waged an all-out effort to find a part-time job.

In summary

What happened: Young people in the age category of 16 to 24 are trying to find jobs in the most challenging labor market since World War II.

How bad is it: Last month, the labor department reported the number of young Americans without a job had reached 53.4 percent.

Why it matters: Part-time work for teens and young people is an important stepping stone on the path of a career.

The 19-year-old Spring Valley native applied to 23 clothing and retail businesses, only to be greeted by a near-deafening silence.

She made follow-up calls. When her cell phone failed to ring, she joked with friends that it must be broken. When she did get a call back from an employer, it was only to tell her that there were no openings.

"I just want a job -- a part-time job -- anything," Jones recalled feeling at the time. "There were nights where I would just cry to my mom and dad. I just wanted a job. The emotional part was tough."

Amid signs of a thawing economy, young people are still struggling to gain a foothold in today's economy.

The transition from student life to the work world is not always an easy passage for people. Part-time work often serves as an important stepping stone, helping create the early credentials of reliability and dependability that employers seek.

For many students and young people, those steps on the path toward a career and full employment have been missing for some time now. Last month, the labor department reported the number of young Americans, 16- to 24-year-olds, without a job had reached 53.4 percent, a post-World War II high.

The loss of employment opportunities for young people can mean anything from a lack of pocket change to a loss of independence.

In Jones' case, she eventually got a job at Cost Cutters but had to quit because it conflicted with her schedule at Rochester Community and Technical College. She decided to move back home.

"It didn't pay the cost of rent, groceries, utilities. It just didn't cut it every two weeks," Jones said.

Well before the recession was identified as having begun in December 2007, jobs were drying up for young people. In hindsight, it was the canary-in-the-coal-mine moment that the economy had hit the skids, officials say.

"These young people were up against it, face first," said Marge Kuethe, youth programs coordinator for Workforce Development Inc., a private non-profit that administers state and federal funds for youth-oriented programs At a time when "these young adults would typically be getting a job at McDonald's or whatever, those jobs weren't out there, and they didn't know why."

Federal stimulus dollars have helped alleviate this barren stretch for some. This summer, with the help of $1.4 million, the work force center was able to provide jobs and work experiences for nearly 650 young people in the 10-county area covering southeastern Minnesota. Kuethe said those experiences translated into continued employment for 20 to 25 percent of the participants.

Even as the economy shows signs of reviving, there is no guarantee that teens will automatically benefit from it, at least early on.

Before employers begin hiring more staff, a more likely scenario will be that they add hours to those existing workers whose hours were cut back, officials say.

"I think the jobs are coming around. It's become a little bit (easier). I'm hearing a lot of business owners and managers saying that business is picking up. But it's still an employer's market right now," said Jeremy Hildman, a youth counselor at the work force center.

Young people like Jones say they aren't giving up or giving in to despair. An RCTC freshman who is considering studying to be a nurse, Jones applied for and has been interviewed for a job at a sun-tanning spa. So, she is keeping her fingers crossed.

"I'm keeping my head up, but sometimes it's just like a dead-end road because you don't feel like nothing is going to happen," Jones said.

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There are 23 comments - Display All Comments

anonymous
too
rochester, mn

Posted on 10/30/2009 at 4:11:03 PM

Many of the jobs that young people used to get are now taken by illegal workers.
Yes, even right here in southern minnie.
And the legal workers can’t say anything “politically incorrect” because the owners and managers of the fast food places, food processors, and other businesses want to keep the cheap labor.
Good luck to all legal citizens that want a job when obama starts giving out amnesty to illegals next year.

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