A recent study by Northeastern University shows a steady decline in teen employment nationwide.
Stephanie Otis, right, 16, of Goshen flips burgers at the Look Park Grill during a shift with Michelle Walsh, 23, of Northampton at Look Park on Thursday.By MATT MEDEIROS
NORTHAMPTON - In an economy still reeling from recession, jobs for teenagers are few and far between.
“When adults can’t even find jobs, it definitely makes it harder for teenagers,” said 16-year-old Stephanie Otis, of Goshen.
Otis was lucky enough to work this summer at Look Park in Northampton grilling food, but notes: “About half my friends don’t have jobs.”
A recent study by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University shows a steady decline in teen employment nationwide. According to the study, teen employment dropped from nearly 46 percent of all teens in 2000 to just under 27 percent in 2010.
A statewide study of teen employment by the Joint Committee on Workforce Development of Massachusetts showed a drop from 53 percent in 1999 to 29 percent in 2009.
Hampshire County ranked lowest in 2008 for teen employment statewide, with an average rate of 30.5 percent.
Although the teen employment picture seems dim, efforts are being made to address the issue.
“The percentage of teens in the work force has dropped dramatically in the past decade,” said Jim Parcells, director of planning and youth programs at the Franklin Hampshire Career Center.
In 2009, the Franklin Hampshire Career Center in Greenfield received $890,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Summer Program to provide seasonal jobs in the region.
The response was overwhelming, with 950 youths between 14 and 21 years old applying for 330 positions. This was only a small portion of teens looking for work, said Parcells, because most teens did not know they could go to the career center for help.
Parcells said he hopes the work picture for teens will improve as the economy strengthens, but he sees no immediate relief. This summer the career center only had enough funds to put 35 teens to work.
One potential solution, said Parcells, would be to restore funding of summer jobs for teens, but he feels budget cuts on the state and federal level make such a decision unlikely.
There are some initiatives being made to assist teens get jobs. A bill before the Legislature sponsored by state Rep. Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera, D-Springfield, would create a commission to identify best practices for stimulating youth employment and evaluate current state programs.
Gov. Deval L. Patrick has allocated $6 million for the Youthworks program, which launched website www.massyouthemployment.org to connect teens and employers.
While the program is available in Hampden County, it is not yet in Hampshire or Franklin counties.
Parcells said the steady decline in teen employment will have serious consequences for the future labor market. Without access to jobs, teens are being denied valuable work experience typically gained at a first-time job. Once the economy picks up again, they will not be prepared to enter the work force, said Parcells.
Unemployed teens are also compounding the economic strain on families. Without an independent source of income to defray their cost of living, parents are forced to pick up some of that slack, and with the highest number of unemployed teens coming from families in lower socioeconomic levels, parents are finding themselves in a difficult position.
“There are a lot of frustrated teens out there,” said Parcells. “They just don’t see any opportunity, and without that opportunity, their motivation to prepare themselves for a job opportunity is disappearing. This is an economic problem, and it is also a problem that is personal to the community.”
Teens who have jobs say the competition is intense.
“I work at McDonald’s and even though I applied a bunch of places, they were the only one who called me back,” said Lindsay Paul, 17, of Northampton.
Networking seems to be key for teens’ employment prospects.
Shannon Keefe, a 16-year-old from Northampton, works at Look Park and said it helped that her sister worked there already. She said that about half her friends cannot find jobs, and she thinks it would be difficult to find a different job because she doesn’t have much experience.
Elijah Bovin, an 18-year-old from Northampton, has been looking for a year and applied to eight or nine jobs. “People get hired that know business owners,” he said.
Stephanie Otis felt her job prospects increased because she also knew someone working at Look Park.
Dylan Chatterton, 18, of Northampton, said that he’s been looking for about a year and applied to about seven places on multiple occasions. He said the labor market “is not that bad. It’s all about who your parents know if you want to get a job.”
While legislators decide whether to fund youth employment programs, teenagers wanting to work are left to their own devices to find it.
Lauren Durfur, 18, of Florence, says she feels lucky to have a job at Look Park. If she didn’t, Durfer says, “I think I’d have to apply a lot of places.”