More Competition for Summer Jobs Among Teens

Teenagers looking from a reprieve from a weekly allowance and to earn their own income this summer are being faced with increased competition for jobs.

Local governments are typically the biggest summer employers for teenagers, but because of federal and state budget deficits, funding for summer jobs programs is limited.

In Rye, employers said budget cuts have not affected the number of jobs they have available, but that the applicant pool for summer jobs has increased significantly.

 "A record number of people applied this year," said Karen O'Donnell, the Rye Recreation Center's Assistant Superintendent.

"We actually are governed by the Department of Health so we have to maintain a certain child-to-counselor ratio," O'Donnell said.

With a record amount of children enrolling in camp this year, the Recreation Center was able to provide approximately 100 counselor jobs and about 50 junior counselor jobs for teenagers.

While O'Donnell said that more adults also applied for positions than in the past, those applicants were more interested in higher up office and supervisor positions, not camp counselor jobs, which are typically given to the younger applicants.

The Rye YMCA is on the same page as the Recreation Center. It usually hires about 75 teenagers each summer and this year that number remained the same. According to Sylvia Gonzalez, the Human Resources director at the YMCA, the hiring process was only "slightly affected because more people applied for jobs."

Westchester Beach Club also said that they have received a record number of applicants this year with teenagers still submitting applications well into July.

Westchester County government is trying to entice employers to hire 500 teenagers for jobs this summer by providing tax incentives to businesses that hire at least one young adult 18 to 21-years old for six to eight weeks at a cost of $1,600. The county is also asking businesses to support its Employment Enrichment Program for 14 to 17-year olds because of limited public funding.

Federal statistics show the slump in overall employment for teenagers. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, only 33 percent of 16 to 19-year olds are in the workforce as opposed to 60 percent 30 years ago.

A study by the Economic Policy Institute released in April indicated that one out of every four unemployed persons in America is under the age of 25. The Institute estimated that the unemployment rate among this group was likely close to 24 percent, if you included all the young people who left the labor market and have stopped looking for work.

In Rye, several teenagers said they had different experiences looking for summer employment.

Amanda, a 15-year-old student at Holy Child, said she applied for a job at the Rye YMCA and got it almost immediately.

"I knew I wanted to be wanted to be a camp counselor so I went to the Rye YMCA," she said. "It was the first place I went. I applied in April and I was hired almost immediately. There was no interview."

Her two friends, also students at Holy Child who declined to give their names, were not formally employed for the summer.

One girl was babysitting while the other said she "has never really tried to get a job." Babysitting for a friend or family member was the most popular response among Rye teenagers when asked about summer employment. Camp counselor was a close second at either the YMCA or the Rye Recreation Center. Several even said they neither wanted nor needed a job.