Hiring is down in San Benito County and across the nation as
school ends
The summer job market for high school and college students is
down across the country, and in Hollister teenagers are feeling the
effects.
Nationally through May, only 6,000 jobs have been gained for
teenagers ages 16 to 19, according to Challenger, Gray
&
amp; Christmas, Inc., a company that specializes in job
placement. Last year in the same study, 111,000 jobs were gained in
May for teens of the same age.
Hiring is down in San Benito County and across the nation as school ends
The summer job market for high school and college students is down across the country, and in Hollister teenagers are feeling the effects.
Nationally through May, only 6,000 jobs have been gained for teenagers ages 16 to 19, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., a company that specializes in job placement. Last year in the same study, 111,000 jobs were gained in May for teens of the same age.
Compared with 1989, the employment rate of teens ages 16 to 19 has dropped from 57 percent to 32.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In Hollister, the job market is just as bleak, said Enrique Arreola of the San Benito County Health and Human services agency.
For more than 10 years, Arreola’s Summer Youth and Training Program has helped place teens in jobs during the summer months when they are out of school, but this year the lack of jobs and money has downsized the project.
Last year, through stimulus package money, Arreola placed 150 young people, ranging from 16 to 24 years old, into jobs rather easily, he said.
But this year it’s completely different.
With a smaller budget and not as many business asking for youth workers, Arreola said the project will fill about 40 jobs.
“We do have a need,” he said. “If we had 150 (teens), it would be more of a challenge.”
Arreola added that they have nearly 400 other teens on a waiting list to be a part of the program.
“We just didn’t get the funding,” Arreola said.
The program is open to teens who are part of a low-income household and have been presented with “obstacles,” Arreola said. Obstacles include having a probation record or being a foster youth.
This week, the 40 teens will pick their jobs, which includes positions with the county and city, he said. The program will start on June 28 and run until school begins in August.
For the rest of Hollister youths, searching for jobs is a struggle as well.
Hollister Mayor and Papa Murphy’s owner Victor Gomez realizes the gloomy teen job market. Gomez said he has gotten a bigger mass of applications this year than in the past, including some adult applications, he said.
“That’s really what I’ve noticed – some of the kids have to compete with adults for what is normally a teen job,” he said.
It’s normal to get applications at the beginning of the summer but he usually doesn’t hire until the end of the summer, Gomez said.
“For the pizza market in general, we see a decline in the summer,” he said. “We generally do our hires in August and September.”
Gomez said he usually hires teens because they have a more flexible schedule along with their willingness to work, but when competing with an adult it could be difficult.
“When I loot at an adult application, they are really looking and wanting a job,” he said. “It’s tough.”
At the Hollister Recreation Center, all of the hiring was done before the summer started, Tyler Pim said.
“We always accept applications but most of our summer hiring is already done,” he said.
The Recreation Center hired nearly 30 teen workers that will be lifeguards or referees. To recruit, they release a message to students at San Benito High school during its announcements. Nearly a month into the summer, some businesses are still hiring.
Mike Baya, owner of both A&W and Baskin-Robbins, is hoping to hire nearly 10 workers in the upcoming weeks at the remodeled Baskin-Robbins, he said. But at A&W there are no plans for new hires.
Baya looks to hire teens because they don’t demand many hours, he said.
“It’s mostly pocket change for them – it’s to pay their phone bill or something like that – so they don’t ask for much,” Baya said.
So far, Baya has received nearly 15 applications after posting a job-opening sign a week ago. He plans to have a full staff by July 7 to reopen the business.
At Casa de Fruta, there are plans to still hire three to eight more jobs before the summer ends, said Gene Zanger, a part-owner of Casa de Fruta.
“Every year beginning in April, we begin to get inquires from teenagers and their parents about summer jobs,” he said.
Currently, Casa de Fruta employs 17 teens and will employ at least 20 by summer’s end. But that number is lower than usual. Normally, Casa de Fruta will hire up to 30 workers for summer.
But despite the market struggles, Zanger thinks teens should still search for jobs, he said.
“If you take on the opportunity of a summer job you will likely make friends, acquire some useful, transferable employment skills, and can earn some money for school,” he said.
Arreola said he agrees.
“I think that summer employment is a life-changing experience,” he said. “It’s critical for one’s development.”
