Teens pushed out of job scene

The job market has been getting tighter for all workers, but it's becoming especially hard for those who are trying to get their first paychecks.

The unemployment rate for working-age teens rose to 20.3 percent in July, the U.S. Department of Labor disclosed late last week. That's almost four times the overall 5.7 percent unemployment rate, and a big leap up from the already elevated 15.3 percent rate among teens a year ago.

Economists are reporting "the demise of the summer job" and saying this is the worst season in more than 60 years for those ages 16 to 19 who want or need to work.

Alison Slowes knows firsthand. She started a summer job search when she got home from Brandeis University in mid-May, beginning with boutiques where she thought it would be fun to work, then broadening the search to Target, Michaels and other national chains.

No one wanted a student who could work for only a few months, she said.

"I got several where I was talking to someone and we were thinking of an interview, and I said, 'You know I have to go back to school in August,' and they were like, 'Oh, never mind,'" said Slowes, 20.

While jobs are becoming harder to come by for everyone, they are particularly short in industries that have been mainstays for teen jobs - retail, hospitality and construction.

The price of gas also has become a factor.

"It's true all over the state, but especially in rural communities, where people tend to drive 10 or 20 miles to the closest retail center or big town," said Lee Egerstrom, economics fellow at MN2020, a St. Paul-based think tank that concentrates on small business and rural development. "If you're going to work a whole day at minimum wage, your take-home pay may not get you more than a tank of gas."

Throughout the job market, there's downward pressure, said Steve Vranicar, an assistant manager at Kowalski's in St. Paul, who said the grocery store has been "deluged" with applications this year from workers of all ages.

Adults are taking jobs that used to be college students' summer work, and the college students are going after jobs usually done by high schoolers. As a result, he said, the high schoolers have to try much harder.

"The younger ones, the 16- and 17-year-olds, are much more aggressive," he said. "They'll call, or their moms call, several times a week."

"It wasn't his first choice, and frankly we hadn't thought about it, either," Budd said. "But he couldn't find a summer job, and this is turning out to be a really good experience for him."

Not working

The Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston predicted this would be a miserable summer for teen workers.

In an analysis published in May, economists there pointed out that the percentage of U.S. teens ages 16 to 19 who hold jobs averaged 34.8 percent last year, the lowest rate since World War II. They predict this summer's average will be below 34 percent.

They also noted a financial and racial divide in teen employment: The most likely to work are white and come from households with incomes between $75,000 and $100,000.

State economist Tom Stinson pointed to two economic measures that indicate particular problems for young job seekers this year: Initial unemployment claims are not up recently, but the length of time Minnesotans are remaining out of work has been rising.

"That means firms aren't necessarily laying off their good workers at any faster rate than in the past few years, but if you're somebody without a job it's harder to find one," Stinson said. "And if you're a teenager, it's going to be extra hard, because you have no job history."