Michigan’s weak economy is making finding a job nearly impossible for many teenagers who are looking to make some extra spending money for the summer months.
“[I’ve] looked at a lot of different places: Ray’s ice cream, Camp Super Summer, and a few others,” junior Kathryn Watts said. She has had no luck with any of her applications thus far.
Watts said she now she will just “apply anywhere I can… but the job market is horrible. There are no jobs.”
This discouraged and dejected attitude seems to be a commonality among teenagers. While there are a few jobs available, the openings are sure to not last very long.
At the boutique Oliver’s Trendz in downtown Birmingham, the manager, Carolyn said that they have “already hired their staff [for the summer] and are very happy with it.”
Carolyn also said that “people came looking for jobs earlier in the season this year” and the store had “college students come in looking for work over Easter Break.”
Upon calling Oliver’s Trendz, Carolyn was the one who answered the phone on the first ring. Many small business owners and managers have begun working more hours themselves and cutting back on their employees hours in an effort to cut costs from within.
The mere fact that people were looking for jobs earlier this season is a big indicator that many are without jobs, and are looking for whatever work they can find.
Over the past decade, the unemployment rate in Michigan has risen from 4.1 % in February of 1999 to a whopping 12.0 % just this past February of 2009 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While these numbers may not seem relevant to today’s teenagers, they do reflect the current economic recession of Michigan, along with the rest of the United States.
And for teens, it is obvious that finding a summer job has proven difficult.
According to an article written for the Wall Street Journal by Rachel Solomon, “Even in a bad economy, experts say the most talented workers always have options; retaining those employees can be critical to keeping the business on track during rocky times.”
Thus, most businesses have made employment cuts and heading into the summer, they have retained only the most essential employees; cutting any position they deem uncritical to the company.
In personal experience looking for a job at Michael’s, there were no positions available, and the employee who this reporter spoke with said that her hours had already been cut.
The businesses still hiring now have the cream of the crop to choose from in applicants. With so many people lacking jobs, companies have benefited because they can afford to be choosy.
Target and Old Navy are two businesses that are hiring in these tough times. Both declined to comment for this story.
To apply at Old Navy, simply fill out an application at www. gap.com.
To apply at Target, go into the store, to the Kiosk by the customer service desk and fill out the application (which will take 30-45 minutes). Target does hire high school students, starting at 16 years old.
With so many people lacking jobs, companies have benefited because they can now afford to be choosy when hiring. And unfortunately for high school students, they will likely choose a college graduate with work and life experience over a moody teenager who doesn’t really want to work when considering applications.
This has become evident to students looking for work over the summer.
“[I want] to get a job for the summer, but I feel discouraged because all the college students already got to them,” said Krista Formberg, a junior at Troy High School.
While there are a few, albeit rare jobs out there that are still open, students must jump on any opportunity they get to work, because in this market, openings won’t last for long.
One quick tip: networking is key in any job. If you have connections in the business world, take advantage of them.
