Unfortunately for today's high school and college students--prime candidates for seasonal work--summer jobs are likely to be hard to come by this year.
"Oil prices skyrocketing. Home sales plummeting. Retail sales falling. Because of all these factors, there is likely to be a dearth of 'help wanted' signs up this summer. And many teens may be extra motivated to want work as parents, seeing discretionary dollars dwindle, start asking kids to pick up more of the tab," according to a recent MSNBC article.
Two recent studies show that the summer job market is going to be a competitive one.
"Nearly half of hiring managers say they have no plans to hire any seasonal workers this year, according to a study of 1,100 companies released today by SnagAJob.com, a job site for hourly positions. When asked why they wouldn’t be hiring, 31 percent of those polled said they didn’t have the budget," according to the article.
Further, "a report put out this month by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University states that 'the summer 2008 job outlook for teens looks particularly bleak,'" according to the article.
Part of the squeeze will come from "the growing number of older workers going after traditional teen jobs in retail and food services, and also the increase in illegal and legal immigrants vying for those jobs," according to the article.
With the economy in a slowdown or a recession--depending on your point of view--more people are looking for work and there are fewer jobs to go around. I know one woman, well established in her job, who recently got a second job working weekends at Starbucks to help cover her rising gas and food costs.
Teenagers and adults alike who are looking for part-time, seasonal work should start looking soon. According to the SnagAJob.com study, 76 percent of companies that will be hiring summer and seasonal workers expect to fill those positions by May.
Labels: Economy , Generation Y , Job Market , Young Workers
