Published: May 12, 2008 10:01 am         

Summertime blues

Tightest job market in years means some teens may miss out on that crucial experience

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Summer jobs etch a place in the soul, long after those high school or college years end.



I can still sense the chilly, gooey feel of raw chicken livers, floating in their own juices, waiting for me to wrap them in bacon and secure it with a toothpick. During my stint at that hotel restaurant, I wrapped so many livers that if their chicken donors remained alive, they could’ve filled every guest room in the place.



At 16, those bird organs just seemed like gross, gelatinous party concoctions for intoxicated adults. Now, I realize that restaurant kitchen job, which I kept for two years, educated me. I learned that earning a paycheck wasn’t always a bowl of cherries — it could be a tray of cold livers. I also gained a new, first-hand admiration for my parents’ ability to live their work ethic and lead a family.



The job gave me gas money, too.



Those first working summers are “a really important time for young people,” said Mitch Daniels, a labor market economist for the Illinois Department of Employment Security.



Unfortunately, landing such jobs may be tougher this summer than any year since 1948. Nationwide, only 1 out of 3 teenagers (16- to 19-year-olds) will be employed this June, July and August, according to estimates by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. Indiana and Illinois — once national leaders in teen employment — have been hit hard. Illinois’ summer teen employment rate fell to 45.6 percent in 2006-07 from a robust 58.9 percent in 1999-2000 — the seventh-greatest drop among all 50 states. In that same span, Indiana’s glittering rate tumbled to 42.5 percent from 61.7 percent, a 19.2-percent decline — the second-largest in the United States.



The summer of 2008 won’t be any easier, especially in the Wabash Valley, battered by layoffs and $3.85-a-gallon gas prices.



“I don’t think it’s likely to be that good, because of the [plant] closures that have occurred,” said Bob Guell, professor of economics at Indiana State University, “and people that normally wouldn’t be willing to do the jobs high school kids or college kids do, might be willing now because of the economic situation.”



Laid-off adults and teens are applying for the same jobs at restaurants, retail stores and service businesses. Some employers will scoop up those displaced veteran workers they rarely find available. A business owner might think, “I’m certainly going to take that seasoned employee over a college kid any day,” Guell explained.



Teen jobhunters beware.



“This is certainly the bleakest summer for that kind of employment since the ’01-02 recession,” Guell said, “and it could be as bad as it was in the 1982 recession for teenage employment, and that was really bad.”



Bigger problems ahead?



The American economy could be sowing seeds of a perpetual problem in the future. Teenagers who aren’t college bound are crippled most by spending summers out of work. Later, “they’ve graduated from high school without any work experience, so they’re living at home, not really sure what they want to go into,” Joe McLaughlin, research associate at the Center for Labor Market Studies, said last week by telephone from Boston. “It’s a human capital problem for the country.”



Teens from households earning $40,000 or less are the least likely to be employed for the summer, McLaughlin said. As household incomes increase, so does the likelihood the kids will be working.



The Center for Labor Market Studies advocates the revival of a federally funded teen jobs program. Congress and the White House rejected a $1 billion plan earlier this year. The center criticized lawmakers and President Bush for failing to act during a recession, while also funding more than 70,000 military jobs for Iraqis, and called that lapse “bipartisan, malignant neglect.” The center also blamed the media for not pushing the issue in the current presidential campaign.



For now, though, what can a teenager do?



Get busy filling out job applications. Teens who wisely started applying weeks ago should make follow-up calls. The school year doesn’t end for high-schoolers until later this month, but many college students’ spring semesters have ended and they’re already on the hunt.



“The kids are definitely encouraged to be out there early, by now, putting their applications in,” said Kim Stevenson, regional market analyst for the WorkOne Western Indiana employment agency. “In some cases, they’re even competing with some of the adults in food services.”



A broadened range of jobseekers has been noticed at the five Wabash Valley Pizza Hut Inc. locations, said its president, Gary Fears. The company’s vice president of operations, Mark Achenbach, confirmed “that we are seeing a few more older applicants than in past years,” Fears said. “We currently have employees ranging from 16 to 65.”



At the Panera Bread restaurant south of Terre Haute on U.S. 41, assistant manager Jessica Best said, “We’ve gotten some older people coming in, too. Definitely a lot more job applications.” Their crew already ranges in ages from 16 to 45, she added.



Last month, Dairy Queen on East Davis Drive posted openings for 10 jobs, which start out at minimum wage, and nearly 30 applicants interviewed, said Pam Lebrun, the restaurant manager.



Cracker Barrel Old Country Store on Margaret Avenue advertised for dishwasher, hostess and cook openings recently. “We’re getting a pretty high response from it, but maybe one out of 10 fit our profile,” said Shawn Donnelly, associate manager. Those jobs, for 18-year-olds and up, start at $7-plus per hour and “fill up pretty fast,” he added.



Sticking with it



Elise Hobbs avoided this year’s crush for summer jobs by keeping her old one. The 18-year-old Marshall, Ind., native just completed her freshman year at ISU, but she’s already a veteran employee at Turkey Run State Park. Hobbs has worked in the park’s office for three years. She’s pulled weekend duty during the school years at Turkey Run High School and then ISU, before shifting to full time each summer.



“It was job security, because I already had it, so I didn’t have to go out and look for one,” Hobbs said. “And the park system pays pretty good.”



At Shakamak State Park near Jasonville, pay for seasonal jobs ranges from $8.11 at the start to $10.54 for head lifeguard or naturalist positions, said Vanessa Peterson, office manager. At that park — which accepts applications only through the State of Indiana online job bank — lifeguards, gate attendants and housekeepers can begin at age 16, and laborers at 18. Turnover is low, and those who return grow in their value.



“If they’re a good employee and work out, we like them to come back, because it’s easier on us in terms of training,” Peterson said. “And we’ve had some who’ve worked for us all throughout their high school and college careers.”



Teens who’ll stick with a good job beyond that first summer appeal to employers, Daniels said from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. A human resources manager for a large retail store told Daniels, “They really want return workers. As for high school kids, they love attracting sophomores and juniors so they can get them coming back and coming back.”



Jobs in certain fields still remain open for young people. The high cost of travel may lead Indiana and Illinois families to vacation nearby, so the local tourism industry is a possibility, Daniels said. Agriculture is another good option.



Kids should be open-minded.



“I would not suggest that a high school student, in what’s not too good of a job market, to get too picky,” Guell said. “That would not be in their best interest, unless they’re looking to take the summer off and their parents aren’t interested in them finding a job.”



After all, wrapping chicken livers in bacon wasn’t so bad.







Mark Bennett writes for The Tribune Star in Terre Haute, Ind.