Job market particularly tough for teenagers

Long Island teens looking for work are maneuvering through a job market that is the worst on record for 16- to 19-year-olds.

Going into this summer's prime hiring time, the national unemployment rate for teens was 25.4 percent last month after hitting 27.6 percent in October - the highest rate since 1948, when the federal government began tracking the number of teens actively seeking work. Both figures are stratospheric compared with the country's 9.9 percent rate.

While there are not specific numbers for Long Island, experts say the jobs picture here is as bleak as elsewhere because the severe recession has dealt teens two blows: Not only are they competing for fewer jobs, but they are also competing against older, experienced workers. That's especially true for jobs in retail stores and fast-food restaurants, said Cheryl Davidson, executive director of the Long Island Works Coalition, a Melville group that helps make students and graduates workforce-ready. "Adults are looking for any kind of job they can find, and in some cases [employers] are taking adults over students," Davidson said.

Long road to finding a job

Teens seem acutely aware of that phenomenon. Kevin Marino, 18, a senior at Locust Valley High School who has been looking for a summer job for several months, says he believes that is partly why he hasn't found work. "Either they're not hiring or they're looking for older, more qualified people," he said.

Quran Cotton, 17, of North Babylon, is among the lucky ones. After a yearlong search, he started working two months ago as a movie theater usher. He said the search was brutal. Even after filling out more than 25 applications at mall stores, he had no luck.

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"I felt kind of discouraged because I could never find anywhere to work," he said. "I'm thinking, 'OK, it's a mall. It's got a lot of stores. If I get applications . . . I would be bound to get one of the jobs.' . . . No place would call back."

Shawntise Stephens, 17, a Bridgehampton High School senior who has been trying to land a job for a year, blames competition from older workers. She's applied at a day care, a clothing store and restaurants. "I feel frustrated because it's not set up for teens to get jobs anymore," she said at a recent Southampton Town Youth Bureau-sponsored job and internship fair. "It's for adults."

King Kullen Grocery Co. ramps up summer hiring in areas like Hampton Bays and Bridgehampton, and that usually means bringing on more students, said Dominick Fortugno, vice president of human resources for the Bethpage-based chain.

"However, there are fewer opportunities for . . . young people in general because part-time turnover is lower in all age brackets," he said. "Some seniors are putting off their retirement, and young graduates, unable to quickly secure full-time work, are remaining with us longer."

The difficulty of the search has eroded the optimism of Jomarie Watson, 15, a sophomore at Hampton Bays High School. Though she found work quickly last year, this time it has been different. She said at this point she will take anything, even "busing tables."

For black teens, tougher time

The overall teen unemployment rate pales in comparison with the African-American teen jobless rate, which shot up to just shy of 50 percent in November, nearly eclipsing the worst record, the 52.1 percent set during another bruising recession, in August 1983. The rate dropped to 37.3 percent in April.

Declines in youth employment aren't a new development. It has been decreasing since the late 1990s, said economics professor Gregory DeFreitas, who heads Hofstra University's labor studies program. Stagnant wages and shrinking unionization among adult workers have made them more attractive to employers, he said.

The recession has aggravated the dynamic because experienced workers increasingly are either looking for work or are remaining in the workforce longer. Diminished wealth because of home-value and pension declines and higher health costs are behind it, he noted. "They're being forced whether they like it or not to stay in the job market or jump back into the job market," DeFreitas said.

The problem is evident at Long Island businesses that traditionally hire teens for summer jobs. Adventureland, the Farmingdale amusement park, usually hires about 500 seasonal workers, mostly teens. But about 3,000 applications have been received so far, up 25 percent from last year, said operations manager Paul Gentile.

percent of them teens, said George Gorman, deputy regional director for Long Island state parks. So far the parks have received 2,000 applications, about 450 ahead of last year, he said.

The high jobless rate couldn't come at a worse time for teens and their families. With the national median income declining and college costs and other expenses rising, teens' earnings aren't just extra income anymore.

"Families more and more need that," DeFreitas said.