Employment decline hits teens looking for summer work

City program employs some

By Melanie Cordova

Last September, 18-year-old Gregory Rego finally got his break. After countless applications with no callbacks, Rego was finally hired.

“I had been searching for a while, I applied to Good Times, K-Mart, a lot of places,” said Rego, “but when you don't have that much past work experience, they don't want you.”

Now however, Rego will again have to go into the summer job market. Although his job at Teen Empowerment is still going strong, tuition at Bay State Community College is forcing Rego to go through another round of applications.

Yet this time, finding a job might be even more difficult than expected. According to a report by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, the teen employment rate for this summer has hit a 37-year low. Only 38.9 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds are expected to be employed this summer, according to the report. The weakened labor market and the increased job competition from college graduates and unemployed adults are the leading causes for the employment decline.

Another reason the report gave for the employment drop was the lack of federal teen summer jobs programs. In Somerville, the Mayor's Summer Jobs program has not been cut back, but teens will still be turned away.

 
In its fifth year, the Mayor's Summer Jobs Program continues to help Somerville teens find employment in the public and private sectors. Starting in February, city residents ages 16 to 20 begin applying to the program, which then leads to interviews conducted by Nancy Bacci, the city's youth programming director.

“We ask a lot of questions about their skills and what they want to learn during the interview process,” said Bacci, “we want to assign them to a job where they will be interested in what they are doing. We would not want to place them with the Council on Aging if they were uncomfortable with older people.”

With many of the jobs beginning July 7, many of the accepted teens are starting to learn where they will work. Yet with more than 150 applicants this year, not all who applied are receiving acceptance letters, “every year we get more applicants than we can place,” said Bacci.

Rego is one of the teens that will not be able to take part in the program. Although he was interested in participating, with the cut-off date in May, he found out too late and will now have to continue the job hunt.

While it appears jobs will be scarce for teens, some Somerville businesses that are hiring say that they are still willing to take on teenagers as employees.

“I would much rather have a teenager that has had restaurant experience then a college student that has only had desk jobs,” said Snappy Sushi's manager, Katie Janik. Owner of Blue Shirt Café, Mike Chen, agrees that experience is important and said, “there are teenagers that are very responsible and there are adults that are very irresponsible, it all depends on the individual.”

Comments

[Craig]

Start the immigrant bashing in 3... 2... 1...

[Summer Jobs]

Back in 1996:
"Twenty million American teenagers worked each summer. Six hundred and twenty thousand are in U.S. Department of Labor-funded Summer Youth Employment and Training programs.

I wonder if this Federally funded program still exists and if so does Somerville get any share of it's funds or do we even apply for any Federal monies for summer youth jobs.

[YouthWorks]

Somerville is not eligible for any funding from this program. Why? I thought the Mayor was "tight" with Deval? The Lt. Governor seems to be reaping a lot of funds from this program for his area. What gives????

WORCESTER – Wednesday, May 14, 2008 – Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray today announced the City of Worcester will receive $533,081 in funding for the YouthWorks summer jobs program this year, an increase of nearly $153,000. This funding alone is enough to employ over 270 young people and once combined with other resources and efforts in Worcester, well over 500 young men and women will be employed this summer.

“In an effort to increase the opportunities available to our young people and to encourage their growth and development, we must take a holistic approach, as YouthWorks does, to coordinate education and employment services,” said Lt. Governor Murray.
Joined by Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne M. Bump, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Judy Ann Bigby and Secretary of Public Safety and Security Kevin M. Burke at Worcester Technical School, Lt. Governor Murray addressed students, school administrators and city officials, focusing the Administration’s comprehensive approach to combating youth violence that includes prevention, intervention and enforcement.

The announcement comes the day after Governor Deval Patrick highlighted the Administration’s funding of more than $5.6 million for the YouthWorks summer jobs program – an increase of $1.2 million from last year – that coordinates education, employment and support services to increase opportunity and development for young people throughout Massachusetts.

[My daughter]

My daughter has filled out so many summer job applications around the Somerville area it is ridiculous. She is in the Honors program at Somerville High and is a very bright, intelligent and outgoing kid. But she can't find employment anywhere and will end up doing nothing but "hanging around" for the summer. Isn't there anything that the business community and city hall can do to work together on some sort of solution? Isn't there any federal funding that Somerville can receive like Worcester did? Why is Somerville not able to obtain any funding from the Youthworks program?

[Plenty]

My kid just got a job at a movie theater in Boston. The interview process was more intense than any job interview I have had for Professional positions. It seems pretty tough out there.

[Jay]

This kid went to Good Times looking for a job? Um, they're going out of business dude. Read a newspaper once in a while (or the Somerville News!).

[Ron Newman]

The article says he applied to Good Times last summer (or earlier).

[Grog29]

What? No mention of the thousands of illegal aliens taking jobs at less pay,
paid under the counter, and using fake documents?

Deport the illegals who overstayed their tourist visas and illegally crossed the border and these kids could get the jobs. As the cost of living rises, parents are demanding that these kids get jobs. With general unemployment rate hitting 5.5% and going higher...politicians better not DARE try getting any kind of illegal alien amnesty or foreign worker program "amnesty" passed. Those ideas are dead on arrival.

[Ron Newman]

Fact check: there is no Bay State Community College.

There is a Bay State College, which is a private two-year institution in Back Bay, not affiliated with the state government.

Or maybe the article meant Massachusetts Bay Community College, in Wellesley?

[Craig]

Grog29-
Wow, it took 12 hours for my countdown to take effect... Thanks for not letting us down with your predictability.

Ron, thanks for the fact check. I really like the role the SN plays, but if makes you wonder how much of this stuff is made up. I mean, if they can't even check what college their star deprived student goes to, then can we trust the rest of the article?

The rest of the paper?

I mean, c'mon, we've had a few instances of editorial mistakes recently, and this is a news article, not a human interest story (Ron Craven) or a gossip column like News Talk, where they normally hide the bad reporting.

I'm just sayin'...

[Ron Newman]

I bring it up only because if he's going to a private college, tuition is probably higher than at a community college.

[Tired]

Grog29- I echo your sentiments. Taking your argument one step further, not only do illegal aliens take the lower paying jobs that could be filled by teens, currenlty unemployed workers or those on welfare, the illegals procreate at an astounding rate that tax the health care system and schools. Instead of teens earning money and taking some of the burden off of their families the illegals work for the same $7 per hour live together in large numbers and drain the city and state budgets.

[Yorktown Street]

A hundred years ago, people were saying the same thing about the Irish and the Italians. It wasn't true then, and it isn't true today.

[Kate]

The jobs illegal are doing are jobs that need to be filled year-round. Do you really think companies would hold some positions open until Summer?

[Plenty]

Perhaps instead of immigrant bashing you folks could start bashing employers who employ them. These employers are breaking the law. Blame them. These "fine upstanding" American employers are breaking the law. Why don't you boycott them? Why don't you bash them? Why don't you ask them to stop and hold them accountable?

[Grog29]

Both need to be bashed with fines, arrests, and deporttation (for the illegals). Who says we have to pick one? Pick them all and get Americans back to work and reduce the 5.5% unemployment number
(which continues to rise) and should be a warning to local and federal politicians to NOT DARE AND PASS ANYTHING that rewrds illegal foreign squartters for taking jobs that Americans need now.

We need jobs for teens, elderly, and (now with general unemployment at 5.5% and CLIMBING) regular workers. The time for action is now.
Get rid of the foreign squatters (who are illegally working) and their enablers (the contractors, subcontractors, and scamming companies) that illegally hire them even though they know that the documents they use are fake and are sold to them by fake document peddlers.

[Grog29]

Oh...and "illegal aliens" are not "immigrants". Immigrants come "legally". Immigrant is more of a legal term than a description of a person.
So don't defame legal immigrants (of the past or future) by comparing them with the foreign squatters who come here illegally by lying on tourist visa applications and crossing borders illegally. That's Marxist propaganda and makes you look like a manipulator of history and word definitions. There's a difference between legal and illegal. A BIG one. Illegals buy fake documents from document peddlers and stea identities to abuse credit, buy houses through liar loans, and cause havoc with the economy and infrastructure.

[mr. plow]

why don't these kids get a hair cut ,pull their pants up, stop inking up their bodies and piercing all over and maybe they could get a retail job.

[Imux]

I have said it before and I will say it again; it is time that ICE went door to door checking people's papers in areas where illegals live. Start kicking down the doors and dragging them out. If you're legal - no problem you can stay. If not, you're on the next bus beaded to Me-hee-cooo. And will you moronic moonbats stop throwing the welcome mat out for them?

[young upwardly mobile professional]

I'd like to start by applauding the City for keeping the funding for the jobs programs. It says a lot about the city and how much it cares about developing its youth and preventing violence on our streets.

As far as illegal’s taking jobs. Imux... I'd bet the jobs they are taking are not the ones you would be interested in.. Im not sure how many adults are interested in a job making $8/hr.. I think most of the people that lost jobs would be happier staying on UI.

If you want to have ICE going from door to door just don't complain when they knock on yours. or be surprised when the city gets its pants sued off because of profiling or illegal search and seizure or habeas corpus infringement.

[JPM]

I have said it before and I will say it again; it is time that ICE went door to door checking people's papers in areas where illegals live. Start kicking down the doors and dragging them out. If you're legal - no problem you can stay. If not, you're on the next bus beaded to Me-hee-cooo. And will you moronic moonbats stop throwing the welcome mat out for them?
******************************************

Wow Imux, that sounds like the Nazis looing for Jews during WW2! You have outdone yourself! I say that as no fan of ilegals or the Somerville Community Coalition or other safe haven BS. Dod we really want ICE barging into people's homes????

[Imux]

JPM, I am not advocating nazi tactics. We should just do the same thing we do to catch drunk drivers - pull everyone - or knock on everyone's door - and check their papers. This way the civil liberty freaks don't get their panties all ruffled.

Or... when cops pull people over for anything - check their papers. In other words, let's just have cops do their jobs and enforce all the laws. If we make Somerville less friendly for employers that hire illegals and then the illegals themselves -- they'll stop coming. Look at Arizona.

NO amnesty (except for the good looking females aged 18 to 30)
NO entitlements to illegals
NO free medical care
NO tuition free college
NO blasting salsa music between 6AM and 6AM
PROSECUTE knowing employers
BUILD the fence

Take back the country. LaRaza be damned. Aztlan? Bull. Reconquista? Not on my watch.

Lock and Load!

[Richard James]

JPM,
People always bring up the Nazis when they attack people with conservative views, i.e. people on the Right.

They always conveniently overlook the Communists of_______ (insert country of choice) who are people on the Left. Now who was worse, Hitler or Stalin? They both suck, but the point is that extremists on either side are dangerous. Imux is simply advocating the enforcement of the laws created by the representatives of the people who elected them in a Democratic process.

Don't be a douchebag and compare YOUR federal employees and any other law enforcement agents to the Nazis. It's unfair and indefensible. Not only that, you look like an idiot.

[Richard James]

Oh, and if ICE has a search warrant, I do want them barging into people's homes. If only somebody thought of that pre 9/11/01.

[Fact Check Squared]

Ron et al: Do another fact check. Bay Sate College was previously known as Bay State Community College. Perhaps some still know it by that name. Sometimes it helps to be an old-timer, heh?

[Ron Newman]

Did Bay State College change from a state-run college to a private one? If so, when?

[???]

Who ever said it was a state-run college???
Don't make assumptions based on the name. Although
you could be confusing it with Mass Bay Community College.
This is hard, isn't it???

[Imux]

I had the opportunity to rethink my position on my prior statement. I now understand that door to door campaigns and having the police check the legal status of anyone they talk to would not only be a burden on the already overworked police and government, but it would result in a police state that would make our community an undesirable place to live for all.

I apologize for any confusion on the issue. I am merely concerned about the rights of the working class that is threatened by having their wages reduced due to competition with illegal immigrants, who are themselves being manipulated.

Imux out

[Imux]

I had the opportunity to rethink my position on my prior statement. I now understand that door to door campaigns and having the police check the legal status of anyone they talk to would not only be a burden on the already overworked police and government, but it would result in a police state that would make our community an undesirable place to live for all.

I apologize for any confusion on the issue. I am merely concerned about the rights of the working class that is threatened by having their wages reduced due to competition with illegal immigrants, who are themselves being manipulated.

Imux out

[Ron Newman]

A community college is a state-run school.

I'm not confusing it with Mass. Bay Community College in Wellesley, but I wonder if the reporter did.