As the forces of economic downturn ripple widely across the United States, the job market of 2008 is shaping up as the weakest in more than half a century for teenagers looking for summer work, according to labor economists, government data and companies that hire young people.
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“When you go into a recession, kids always get hit the hardest,” said Andrew Sum, an economist at the Center for Labor Market Studies who led the study on the summer job market. “Kids always go to the back of the hiring queue. Now, they find themselves with a lot of other people in line ahead of them.”
We’re in a recession? When did we have two consecutive quarters of negative growth? Did I miss that report somewhere? They later throw in the line: “… with the economy gripped by what many experts believe is a recession…” just in case you missed the reference the first time.
At the lower end of the market, adult Mexican immigrants, in particular, pose competition for jobs traditionally filled by younger Americans, like those at fast food chains.
“Spanish-speaking team members in our stores have increased the age a little bit,” said Andy Lorenzen, senior manager for human resources at Chick-fil-A, a national chain of chicken restaurants based in Atlanta, where 70 percent of the work force is 14 to 19 years old.
How sure can they be that these folks are all legal?
But then again it may not matter because some of the youth searching for summer employment find slinging burgers and waiting on customers to be, well, beneath them.
She and the other students stammered in veritable horror when asked if they would consider working in fast food.
“I don’t see myself saying, ‘Hey, sir, may I take your order,’ ” Ms. Henderson said. “I don’t see any growth in it.”
From an 18-year-old young lady working as an optometrists assistant in the Tulsa area.
As a graduating senior I could see her point. An interning position would definitely be a leg up and assist you in deciding whether the career or college program you are embarking upon is right for you.
I feel sorry for the kids looking for summer employment but the quotes about not seeing any growth in working at a fast food joint…well, that takes a little of the empathy out of the equation.
The fact that the Times could find no one willing to speculate that the rise in the minimum wage and demands that employers over a certain size provide all sorts of benefits just might have produced a tightening in the entry level/seasonal jobs marked is just a little peculiar. They do point out that the rise in fuel prices makes it difficult for some of these kids to get to their jobs. And, of course, they have “experts,” named and unnamed, who seem to lean on the “recession” theme. (Way to ignore the facts, NYT!)
Oh, yeah, then there’s Jose.
a 15-year-old sophomore named José, who has lived here since he was 2 years old but lacks legal immigration papers, worried that he would not find a job. He would happily work in fast food, he said, but word is that more places are checking papers.
“It limits your choices,” he said. “A lot of people are afraid.”
Oh brother! Where to start.
1- Age: 15 what’s the law in Tulsa? Are you old enough to work in fast food?
2- You are here illegally. Granted you probably didn’t have much of a say in the matter at age 2 but your mom and/or dad smuggled you across the border. If you and they are afraid, they can either smuggle you back (after you have benefited from some 10 years of education on citizens’ dime) or you can all get yourselves arrested and deported. That’s what illegal means.
6 comments:
My wife jumped through the immigration hoops (legally). My son (adopted from S.Korea) immigrated here legally. Both are naturalized citizens. The 15 year old Jose has reason for hope and change in all three presidential candidates (Hillary Winkin, Obama Blinkin, and McLame nod). Shit, I think I'll vote for Ralph Nader or most likely, Ralph Cramden.
I don't know what it is in Tulsa now..but I started to work in the oli patch the summer I was 13..no one asked me how old I was..all they wanted was my social security number.
Minimum wage laws have done more to hurt the economy than help it. First of all, labor is a commodity and the price of labor is either inflated or deflated when it is not allowed to rise and fall with supply and demand.
And secondly, NO teenager first starting a job will produce enough to even pay his wages let alone the hidden costs involved employing labor. It takes most of that first summer they work to train them enough so they can start making you money NEXT summer..if they will return to work.
I gave up on teenage labor..I would rather hire an adult wino and try to keep him sober every other day..get more work out of him than the teens
Oh, and by the way..I have my doubts that I was much of a hand at 13 when I first started out..dumber than a box of rocks with a strong back and arms...but I did learn and did what I was asked to do...more than I can say about the numerous tens I have hired over the years..
When I started as an assistant sexton at the church, I had to be shown what to do too. I think I was around 15-16 at the time. (I was the one who had to clean the restrooms, sweep the floor and vacuum the rug, shovel snow from the sidewalk, etc. The #1 sexton had to keep the boiler going in the furnace, plow the parking lot, and make sure the bells rang when they were supposed to.) Same when I went to work at the mom & pop hardware/lawn garden store the next year. A strong back and a willingness/ability to follow directions were extremely important assets. Hell, they may have been the only assets you have when you first start to work.
As for our friend Jose, he shouldn't have a SSN since he's, you know, illegal.
The labor market here in Anchorage is equally poor. I've gone through 14, count'em, 14 receptionists in the last 15 months. It took me this long to find one person with enough "on the ball" to anticipate a need, much less to answer the phones without being reminded.
Our local rag tells us we have 187 different dialects spoken here, but they don't mention that with the Alaska Natives being handed everything for free, there's little incentive for them to work. They surely do expect a paycheck, though.
But, Rev. Paul, that's a probelm of people not being qualified for the available jobs. The NYT was touting the lack of jobs for beginners in much of the country.
As for the lack of work ethic, it's not just a problem amongst the native Alaskan. Too many youngsters have never had the responsibility of chores at home and have never learned the need to expend time and effort to complete a task successfully. Nor have they really learned how to think enough to solve a problem they might encounter while attempting to complete that task. Like your labor pool, they have had too much handed to them by helicopter parents who wish to hover around to protect little Johnny and Jane until they are 30...or so it seems.
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