http://www.dailygazette.com

Quoted Text

Youth jobs in shorter supply this summer On the Money
BY EILEEN ALT POWELL The Associated Press

    NEW YORK — Albertsons supermarket said “no,” and so did Macy’s department store and a local grocer.
    But 16-year-old Lila Woloshin hasn’t given up on getting a summer job. Now she’s working on an application for part-time work at the local Petco animal shop.
    “Very few of my friends have jobs yet,” Woloshin said. “I think it’s tougher because, with the economic decline, people are trying to make do with the employees they have.”
    Like many of the nation’s high school students, Woloshin is finding summer jobs are scarcer this year as the U.S. economy slows amid rising oil prices, the housing crunch and tight credit market conditions. The downturn means teens may find themselves competing with unemployed adult jobseekers at a time businesses are trying to hold down costs.
    Still, experts say kids will find both paying and volunteer work this summer — but it may require more persistence than in recent years.
    Jim Taylor, vice chairman of the Harrison Group, a market research firm based in Waterbury, Conn., points out that there are many jobs earmarked for teens, especially in enterprises that draw teen patrons. These include summer recreation programs, youth services, fast food restaurants and stores that sell kid-friendly fashion.
    And teens have shown a strong desire to work, he added. The Harrison Group’s latest survey found that 46 percent of teenagers have jobs, and they typically put in more than 14 hours a week and take home an average of $474 a month to save for college, invest in electronics or spend on entertainment.
    Teens not yet employed or who want to increase their hours will have to do some legwork, Taylor said.
    His advice: “Go out and get a real, grownup set of shoes. Get rid of the rings — nose rings and other stuff. March up and down the mall with a really good resume. Walk into every store — every store — and say, ’I’m looking for summer work.’ And you’ll get a job.”
    The earlier teens start looking, the better, he added, because “if you wait too long, the jobs will be gone.”
    Peter Handal, chairman, president and chief executive of Dale Carnegie Training in Hauppauge, said young people who want summer work should maintain a positive attitude in their job searches.
“Companies still are hiring, so there will be opportunities,” he said.
For Lila Woloshin, a high school sophomore, getting a job is about having money to save and to spend, including funds to go to the movies and hang out with friends.
Her mother, Mara Woloshin, who owns a public relations agency and is an adjunct professor at the University of Portland in Oregon, believes teenagers invest so many hours on Web sites such as Facebook and MySpace that they need a nudge toward the real world.
    “What’s more real than working a job?” she asked. “What’s more real than the reality of dollars and cents, and getting to a place where expectations are not set by your parents but are set by the world at large. … I can’t think of a better way to educate a young person.”
    John Ferrell, president of the YMCA of Greater Boston, is a big employer of teen workers each summer, many of whom help at day camps and other programs the Y sponsors. The Boston Y hires more than 500 teens each year and takes on an additional 200 to 300 teen workers who are paid by city youth employment programs.
    “Sure, teens need spending money,” Ferrell said. “But employment helps them develop a sense of responsibility, a sense of work ethic. It’s part of becoming an adult, and we think it’s important for us to contribute to that process.”
    One teen who will benefit is Nicole Horan, 17, who will spend her second consecutive summer as a camp counselor, supervising kids ages 5 to 12 who participate in swimming, archery and arts and crafts programs. She attended the same camp as a child.
    “The job is important because it’s spending money for me,” Horan said. “It’s money to use when I’m going out with friends, out to eat or shopping.
    “I also have a lot of fun.”

These kids should talk to their parents and grandparents.  Many of us didn't work during the summer.  As my wife said, she learned how to sew, crochet, and knit which saves money today as she still dabbles in that, particularly knitting which saves bucks in winter.  

Do kids volunteer these days?  They need to see the real world?  Volunteering will show them.

Sad that todays kids will get into trouble without a job.  In the absence of summer camp time, we were home, played games, rode our bikes, went to the city pool, played tennis.  

Do you think these kids could have some hefty reading assignments over the summer, several book reports?

Maybe it's time school is year round

It amazes me sometimes, when I think of how we live in a land of plenty and the kids are still bored. When I grew up, we didn't have plenty. My dad worked and my  mom stayed home until we were teenagers.  I saw them work hard to pay bills and support a family and never looking for a hand out. And because of their hard work, we as kids were allowed to just be kids and play. When my mom went to work outside of the home when we were teenagers it then became my responsibility to cook dinner and clean the house.(I was the only girl and women's lib wasn't around ) And at 17 years old, I got a part time job that earned me some extra money. And even though I worked, I still had my responsibilities at home.

So I guess what I'm trying to say, is that without plenty, we were never bored or got in trouble. And today there is plenty and the kids are bored and because of that, they say that is the cause of them getting in trouble. I know that times are different now, but I think that the basics are still the same. I think!

They want the jobs---we drive them to them.....get a job take care of yourself....go work go work go work......we did it........they want a car, they want Abercrombie and Fitch, they want Nike, they want McDonalds when they want it, they want Victoria Secret, they want Ipods, they want lap tops etc etc etc.....

this is the field we plow and sow and farm now........they are learning well......(mostly)