Summer slump: Job market works against teens

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Bad news for teens still looking for work this summer: The national market is horrible -- the worst in 60 years, according to one annual accounting.

"We probably get at least 100 applications a week," said Lori Allred, operator of the Chick-fil-A at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. "I don't hire anyone who is only available for the summer."

Even in a bad market, thousands of teenagers will be found running cash registers, guarding pools, stocking shelves and doing countless other jobs this summer.

But thousands won't be working at all, and part-timers probably will get squeezed.

"With the economy like it is, I need to meet the priorities of my full-time people who are paying rent and mortgages," Allred said. "They need more hours just to cover the increased costs of gas."

According to a study by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, 34.2 percent of eligible teens expect to work this summer -- the lowest since recordkeeping started in 1948.

The high water mark was 45.2 percent in the summer of 2000.

Jeff Buck, who owns seven Cold Stone Creamery ice cream shops, said he noticed a different mix of applications this year.

"If anything, we are getting more older people and college students," Buck said. "In some stores they also seem to be more flexible about the hours they will work."

But an employer's need for flexibility can be an anchor in teens' schedules. Many teens have no interest in blocking out 40 hours a week just in case the boss needs them for a fraction of that time.

Justin Abbott is trying to get around that problem by creating his own job.

A high school junior, Abbott plays in a baseball league and has a church mission trip to Mexico planned. He knew his time would be tight this summer. "But we were also on him to do something to help pay for the gas," said his mother, Melanie Abbott.

So Justin and a friend printed 200 fliers offering landscaping services and power washing in their neighborhood.

He walked home this week with $100 in his pocket and leads on a few more jobs. "It would be good to get something where we go back every week," he said.

That kind of consistency is easier for teens to find when they start the job hunt early.