May 28, 2008 5:58 pm US/Eastern
Teens Struggle With Dismal Job Prospects
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Kwameeshie Myers-Robinson is 15, and filling out paperwork for her very first summer job.
"I'm going to be a camp counselor. I love kids. It's going to be great," said Myers-Robinson.
She has another reason to be excited. She's landed a job at a time when, according to at least one expert, employment prospects for teens are dismal.
Professor Andrew Sum, with Northeastern University's Center for labor Market Studies, co-authored a report detailing teen employment's downward trend.
"Unfortunately, according to our projections, teen employment nationwide could hit its lowest point in 60 years," said Sum.
In today's tight economy, Sum says, some jobs typically held by teens have been cut, while others are now held by adults.
Says Jon Hurst of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, "That's hurting them (teens) right at the front door, having to compete with someone with more experience."
The Boston Youth Fund will put 3,600 teenagers, between 15 and 17 years old, to work. The ratio of applicants to jobs is more than two to one.
Chibuzo Ibeabuchi, a junior at Howard University, works for the Youth Fund, contacting teens who've been selected for jobs.
"Usually when I call them they're ecstatic," said Ibeabuchi. "I can hear parents in the background screaming congratulations, things like that."
A key to the program, says executive director Christine Wainwright, is kids who apply do not need prior experience.
"If you've never worked before, it doesn't matter. We're just looking to give you your first job experience," Wainwright said.
Which pays off in ways beyond the $8 per hour minimum wage paycheck. Ibeabuchi spent four summers as a high schooler working in a medical office. Now he's studying physical therapy and dentistry at a university.
Amity Paye, who worked for a magazine and a seamstress in high school through the Youth Fund, now studies fashion and journalism at Syracuse University.
With the job market tight for teens, Northeastern's Andrew Sum said, more teens will miss out not just on pocket money, but on experience on which to build their futures.
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