Raider Generation


Unemployment rates for teens are rising

Thursday, May 10, 2012 By Sierra Ellis

This summer, teens throughout Rapid City will be looking for jobs to get some extra money, but this year could be tougher than years past. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 32.6 percent of teenagers ages 16 to 19 were employed in 2008. It was an all time low, down from 45.2 percent in 2000. Unemployment for teenagers has continued to decrease since then. “It has been really hard for me to get a job that isn’t babysitting. It is really hard to compete against older, more experienced people,” Maura Williams, a sophomore, said. Stevens’s teachers have been housekeepers, waitresses, and sold jewelry for a summer job. “Take anything! Fill out a lot of applications,” Mrs. Weisbeck, science teacher, said. Weisbeck worked with her dad in plastic surgery for her first summer job. She cleaned the instruments and helped watch the patients. “I like to have a summer job so I can get money and go out with friends. I just don’t like that you don’t get a lot of free time to hang out with your friends,” Breanna VanBochove, student at Stevens High School, said. Jobs have been hard to get this year, so just keep an eye out on the classifieds and any places hiring. There are job searches online, and some websites to find jobs in Rapid or other areas are http://new.snagajob.com , and rapidcity.jobs-to-careers.com