Looking for a job? So is everyone else, it seems. The current economic downturn has hurt the average teenagers’ chance for work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in Colorado the unemployment rate for teenagers, ages 16 through 19 was at 21.1 percent in 2008, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
Senior Courtney Quenzer has been hunting for a job since June and still has had no luck.
“All the jobs are going to older people and teens are getting shut out,” Quenzer said.
This certainly seems to be what most teenagers think. “I applied to a lot of places at the mall,” Quenzer said.
College plans also have a influence on teenagers’ need for jobs. In the past year more teens have started saving up for their education and applying for college.
School is getting more and more expensive, and it is more difficult for students to afford an education.
“[I’m looking for] pretty much anything to save up for college,” Quenzer said. “I want to go to University of Northern Colorado. Tuition for in- state [students] is around $13,000. My parents say they can help, but I don’t want to be a free loader and a job would really help out.”
With so many jobless teenagers, many teens are stuck at home. Parents must now support their older kids as well as their young children.
Bureau of Labor statistics show that in Colorado, 31 percent of children live with parents who do not have a fulltime job. This makes hunting for a job more demanding. Those parents who need the jobs to support their family are competing with the teens that are hunting for jobs.
“I try not to let it bother me,” senior Nacarid Silva said. “Most of my money goes to a savings account and only a small portion goes to things I want.”
Although Silva has worked at Sborro for just over three months, her college plans keep her from doing the activities she would like to do as frequently.
Job-hunting is escalating.
“I imagine that the percentage of teenagers who are working is at its lowest in history,” Target store team leader Erin Rohman said. Rohman is responsible for interviewing and hiring applicants at Target.