In a better economy, most worried-what-other-people-think teens would snub a job that requires singing ice cream-themed songs to the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” while scooping flavors like cake batter and cinnamon.

But when 17-year-old Corey Hobbs heard about the new Cold Stone Creamery in Dallas’ Mockingbird Station, he raced to apply. A few days later, Hobbs giddily donned a fire engine red T-shirt and requested his first customer’s order.

“It was a very, very lucky strike,” Hobbs, a high school senior-to-be, said in early June. “I was figuring that I wouldn’t have a job this summer.”

Such lucky strikes, however, are an anomaly. The reasons? A stagnant economy and older competitors.

Unemployed adults – including recent college graduates, laid-off tech workers and senior citizens on tight pensions – are willing to work in fast food, retail, coffee shops and other jobs typically filled by teens. Combined with a reduction in the number of openings, the result is the bleakest teen-job market in four decades, according to the National League of Cities.

“The poor economy is really starting to trickle down to the teen market,” said Brad Kaufmann, vice president of marketing for Junior Achievement, a nonprofit organization that educates minors about business and economics. “There’s a significant amount of competition out there that didn’t exist a few years ago.”

Things were not always so cutthroat. In the summer of 1989, 48.4 percent of teens were employed, compared with 39.5 percent last year, according to a recent study prepared by Northeastern University for the National League of Cities. This summer’s rate should be 36.7 percent, an all-time low.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics paints an equally dismal picture. The unemployment rate for youth 16 to 24 years old in July 2002, the latest figures available, was 12.4 percent, compared with 9.6 percent in 2000. Youth unemployment is almost double the overall nationwide rate, said Jerome Watters, a regional economist with the bureau in Dallas. New numbers will be released in August and the youth unemployment rates are expected to rise.

That troubles Renee Ward, founder and executive director of Teens4hire.org, a 2-year-old national job board.

“It is at this time that young people make critical choices that affect their transition into adulthood,” she said. “Work experience at this stage in life is critical.”

Ward has found more than 600 employers who have either cut back on teen hiring or are not hiring the demographic. That means roughly one in three teenagers willing to work won’t find any, she estimated.


Dallas’ youth are reacting in different ways.

Although Lisa Mendoza, 18, has unsuccessfully applied at grocery stores, movie theaters, department stores and temporary agencies, she refuses to abandon the quest. She has two young children and wants to escape public assistance, explained the Dallas Can! Academy sophomore.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Erin Harris of Dallas opted to forego the job search and hang out with friends before attending camp later this summer.

“I just think that all the older people are going to take the jobs,” she explained.

Her friend Rachelle Alpern, 16, chose the same route, but only after looking for work. After calling numerous potential employers and applying to several restaurants without luck, she decided to “sit around all summer.”

“I’m not going to get a job. I’ve tried every place,” she said. “I’m giving up.”

Such comments worry industry analysts. They fear immediate results, including unemployed teens getting into trouble or not being able to pay car insurance or contribute to family finances. That leads to diminished buying power, which affects the nation’s merchants.

There are also lasting consequences, pointed out Michael Reinemer, a spokesman for The National League of Cities. Money aside, teens who do not work are unlikely to learn about teamwork, punctuality or time-sheet honesty, he added. Reinemer also worries that the discouragement teens face now will last past the summer.

“In this time in their lives, they should be full of hope and optimism,” he said. “You want them to have a good experience in the workplace, get a good start and begin a trajectory upwards rather than downward.”

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(c) 2003, The Dallas Morning News.

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GRAPHIC (from KRT Graphics, 202-383-6064):

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