News

Suburban teens find tough adult competition

Posted April 11, 2009 11:00 pm

By Deborah Donovan

It's spring break for Aldofo Ludovic, 19, Aurora, job hunter and student at Waubonsee Community College. Tanit Jarusan | Staff Photographer

Competition for summer jobs will be more fierce this year than last, which was the worst on record for teen employment.

It won't surprise parents coping with the economy to learn that high school and college students who want to work this summer should get out and apply quickly.

"It's the toughest time ever for young adults or youth to look for summer jobs," said Jennifer Everett, youth department manager for the Lake County Workforce Department. "They are competing with much more highly skilled workers."

More than $1 billion in federal stimulus funds for summer jobs for young people could keep this season from hitting even lower numbers than last year, when nationally about 33 percent of teens age 16-19 were working, said Joseph McLaughlin, senior research associate at the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston.

Locally, the stimulus money will mean $2.1 million for northern Cook County, almost $2 million for Lake County, $1.5 million for DuPage, $1.4 million for Kane and almost $600,000 for McHenry.

Yet teens will be competing for summer work with adults, including college graduates who have given up on finding employment in their chosen fields, who will accept the types of jobs traditionally filled by teens and young adults, McLaughlin and other experts say.

Young people who've held jobs before say the landscape is definitely rockier.

Lauren Jones, 18, a senior at Warren Township High School in Gurnee, has experience at restaurants and a retail store, but she hasn't found a summer job to put money in her pocket for college, which starts in the fall at Columbia College in Chicago.

"I know it's going to be hard when everyone from college comes home," she said. "I've applied a lot of places and hardly get a call back."

It took her two months to get her last job, and it seems harder this year. However, she's still holding out hope for work she'll really enjoy such as at a music store or coffee shop.

"I like talking to people better than sitting at a computer - working with other people," said Jones.

Aldofo Ludovic, 19, a student in early childhood education at Waubonsee Community College, also prefers jobs where he can interact with others. His experience includes catering and working at fast food restaurants, and he is eager to get a job because he has bills to pay.

"I don't like jobs where I get dirty," the Aurora teen said. "I could be a salesman. It has to be flexible for my studies."

Some stores at Westview Fox Valley Shopping Center in Aurora told Ludovic they weren't hiring, as did fast food restaurants that he usually finds have work available.

A recent youth expo in Lake County provides evidence that young job seekers are getting the message it's tough out there. About 1,400 of them showed up - twice the number last year - while the 14 employers represented a 50 percent reduction, Everett said.

The St. Charles Park District is another agency that sponsors an annual teen job fair, and this year 500 potential workers attended, perhaps 150 more than in past years, said Holly Cabel, supervisor of recreation for the district. But she said the number of employers was about the same.

She said areas in her department that still have openings include staff for the pools and miniature golf. Camp counselor positions are filled.

The situation is similar in Naperville. Remaining positions are in the areas of lifeguarding, food service and park maintenance, said Katie Sepe, human resources manager, who has noticed more applications this year.

Six Flags Great America in Gurnee still must fill almost 1,000 of its 3,200 seasonal positions, and hires those aged 15 and older.

This year the park opened earlier, so jobs are available from early April through Nov. 1. A job fair will be held April 21, and hiring will go on throughout the season, spokesman Brooke Gabbert said. Although the parent company has threatened bankruptcy, this park is profitable and looking forward to a good year, she said.

Snagajob.com, a Web site for hourly jobs, found no good news in its second annual survey of more than 1,000 hiring managers.

Almost half of managers said they will not be recruiting summer workers this year. That's consistent with last year, but 23 percent of the rest say they will hire at levels lower than last year.

More bad statistics: 65 percent of seasonal staff is expected to be returning workers, and young people's greatest competition comes from workers who recently entered the work force because of economic pressure, said 29 percent of managers.

This is supported by a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that people in the "involuntary part time" category rose by 787,000, reaching 8.6 million in February. The number of these workers, who include those who would rather be working full time, rose by 3.7 million over the past 12 months.

The good news is Illinois has received federal stimulus funds totaling almost $53 million over a few years for young people up to age 24. As much as possible is to be spent this summer, with the remainder used for year-around employment and next summer. The employees must be low-income or have impediments to employment, but if a parent lost a job the unemployment payments do not count in income calculations, said Everett.

Each county has its own funds, and government agencies and not-for-profits who will hire and supervise young employees will get stimulus money to cover their wages.

Lake County hopes to put 350 more young people - double the amount it usually serves - to work this summer and maybe more next year, said Everett. Her agency has the advantage of sponsoring youth employment services for almost a decade.

The stimulus money is what will make this summer different from last year, which was bad, said Lisa Maentz, director of youth services and operations for the Illinois Work Net Center that serves the Northwest suburbs of Cook County.

Research shows subsidized jobs for teens usually mean new jobs, not the use of substitute funds for jobs that would have been there anyway, said McLaughlin.

And with all the economic problems we are facing, why should we care whether young people have summer jobs?

"It's important they connect with the workplace and meet people in a professional setting," McLaughlin said. "They learn how important school is and that they need to finish high school and go onto college to earn what they think they should earn. The other thing is the more you work today the more likely you will work more in the future."

Sarah Martinez, 18, Grayslake, left, and Rebecca Oseguera, 23, Lake Villa, interview with Jeremy Melius and Andrea Eberz, right, during a job fair at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. Steve Lundy | Staff Photographer

Kathy DeLassus, left, interviews Josh Block, 17, Fox Point, Wis., during a recent job fair at Six Flags in Gurnee. Steve Lundy | Staff Photographer

Satin Katz, 19, Waukegan, left, and Ebony Burch, 20, Zion, fill out applications at Six Flags in Gurnee. Steve Lundy | Staff Photographer

Lauren Jones, 18, of Wadsworth, job hunts online. Gilbert R. Boucher II | Staff Photographer

Need a job? Here is a local sampling of job clubs, networking groups and other programs for the unemployed: Suburban resources • Community Career Center: 1871 Gowdey Road, Suite 210, Naperville; (630) 961-5665. <a href="http://www.communitycareercenter.org" target="new">www.communitycareercenter.org</a> • St. Hubert Job and Networking Ministry: St. Hubert Ministry Center, 729 Grand Canyon, Hoffman Estates. (847) 925-6005. • Job seekers: Support group for those affected by unemployment. Larry Johnson at (847) 342-8125, e-mail Michael Whitney, <a href="mailto:Mwhi859716@aol.com">Mwhi859716@aol.com</a>. • Career Resource Center Inc., Grove Cultural Campus, 40 E. Old Mill Road, Suite 105, Lake Forest, (847) 295-5626, or <a href="http://careerresourcecenter.org" target="new">careerresourcecenter.org</a>. • Job Support Group, Holy Family Catholic Church, 2515 W. Palatine Road, Inverness; (847) 359-0042 • Employment Bulletin Board, St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 200 S. Willie St., Mount Prospect; (847) 253-0631 • Lisle Township Job Club: Joy Maguire Dooley. 4721 Indiana Ave., Lisle; (630) 968-1880 ext. 13 • LDS Employment Resources Services, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1801 N. Mill St. Suite F, Naperville; (630) 369-0785 • Job Search Seminar, Christ Church of Oak Brook, 31st & York Road, Oak Brook; (630) 654-1882 • College of DuPage Career Services Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn; (630) 942-2230. w<a href="http://ww.cod.edu/Service1/CECS/CECS.htm" target="new">ww.cod.edu/Service1/CECS/CECS.htm</a> • Barrington Career Center, 600 Hart Road, Suite 275, Barrington; (847) 304-4157; <a href="http://www.barringtoncareercenter.com" target="new">www.barringtoncareercenter.com</a> • Life Work Workshop, Willow Creek Community Church: 67 East Algonquin Road, South Barrington; (847) 765-5000 State help Illinois Department of Employment Security offices offers help at <a href="http://www.ides.state.il.us/ietc/network/index.asp" target="new">www.ides.state.il.us/ietc/network/index.asp</a> and at these locations: • 723 W. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights; (847) 981-7400. • 30 DuPage Court, Elgin; (847) 888-7900. • 800 Lancer Lane at College of Lake County, Grayslake; (847) 543-7400. • 837 S. Westmore/Meyers Road, Lombard; (630) 495-4345. Educational institutions Your alma mater may provide job resources. For instance, Harper College, Palatine, <a href="http://www.harpercollege.edu" target="new">www.harpercollege.edu</a>, offers weekly info sessions on the free tuition vouchers for the unemployed provided by Illinois workNet. Sessions often held in the Wojcik Conference Center on main campus. Resources also available for job searches and workshops at satellite office in the Arlington Heights Unemployment Office, 723 Algonquin Road. In addition, a job club provides speakers and networking opportunities.

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