SNHU Student Commented on Job Market

Jobless Adults, Teens Vie for Summer Jobs

During one week this month, 15 people stopped by the Manchester parks and recreation office looking for summer jobs -- and they weren't high school or college students, either. 'These are adults who are out of work looking for summer employment at the least,' said Chuck DePrima, Manchester's acting parks and recreation chief. 'That's kind of a first,' he said. 'We've had quite a few people coming into our office off the street looking for work.' Out-of-work adults in growing numbers are trying to elbow out their younger competition to secure a summer job -- any job -- in a difficult employment market. 'There is that hot competition,' said Amber O'Donnell, recruiting coordinator for Staffing Sense, an employment staffing agency in Stratham.

Jobless adults have 'been in the market longer; they've been applying a lot longer than some of the kids,' she added. National surveys bear out the trend.

Nearly three-quarters of hiring managers surveyed expect more applications for summer jobs this year, and 29 percent predicted the greatest competition for seasonal positions will come from workers who 'recently entered the workforce because of economic pressures,' according to SnagAJob.com.

A separate survey of teens revealed 24 percent were told there was more competition for jobs, and 18 percent noticed they were working alongside more adults or former retirees, according to a Junior Achievement poll completed in late February.

At Funspot in Laconia, floor manager Aaron Richardson is seeing more older applicants. 'I definitely am getting older people that have been laid off,' he said. He hires people ages 14 and older. Older workers provide 'a little bit of a benefit only because they have experience dealing with people,' Richardson said. Funspot won't make hiring decisions until early June on filling five to 10 full-time jobs and another 20 to 30 part-time positions but expects to hire some laid off people. 'They just want to be considered for a job because it's tough out there,' Richardson said. At Cremeland in Manchester, owner Tom Queena said he has 28 workers returning from last year and has no open positions. This year, he has fielded more applicants who are beyond college age. 'They reflect on how tough times are and how hard it is to find work,' he said. The nationwide unemployment rate for teens age 16 to 19 stood at 21.5 percent last month (versus 8.9 percent overall), compared to 15.4 percent a year earlier (versus 5 percent overall), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Students and adults are competing for summer jobs. Jeremy Kelliher, a junior at UNH, is working at the Derryfield Country Club for the summer. (THOMAS ROY)

But not everybody is hearing the blues from teenagers. 'Every student I talk to, so what are the plans for the summer? 'I'm going to be doing some baby-sitting' or work at Water Country or have a job at the beach,'' said Pam McDonough, guidance director at Exeter High School. 'I haven't heard kids say, 'Oh, I can't get a job.'' At Hampton Beach, Chuck Rage said he typically hires foreign students to staff his Pelham Resort, partly because American teenagers weren't interested in hotel work. 'This is the first year we're actually seeing American kids looking for work' since the late 1980s, he said.

Canobie Lake Park in Salem fills several hundred positions through its operating season and has seen the number of applicants this year 'increase substantially,' said amusement park spokesman Chris Nicoli. 'Due to the nature of the positions available, we do not see an increased competition between high school or college students and career-oriented individuals looking for employment,' Nicoli said. Grant Klene, who's getting his master's degree in marketing from Southern New Hampshire University next month, said he applied for a full-time permanent campus job that required only a bachelor's degree.

Jon Frost of Manchester is also working at Derryfield this summer. When Kelliher returns to UNH, the club hopes Frost will continue to work into the late fall. (THOMAS ROY)

The office received 120 resumes and 'I hadn't even got my resume over to them,' Klene said, calling the response 'pretty crazy.' Added Chance Clutter, assistant director at SNHU's Career Development Center: 'Employers are looking good. They have a lot to choose from, but it makes it tougher for everyone else.' In DePrima's case, he had to delay hiring summer workers until some of Manchester's municipal budget issues were worked out last week. He now can hire summer workers, but he faces cutting 39 people on July 1 if Mayor Frank Guinta's budget is adopted. 'If it were me, in this economy, I think everybody needs the mentality that jobs available in the recent past aren't there anymore and they should apply to as many positions as possible, and if something comes to you, it might not be the ideal or dream job or what you expected for the summer, but it's probably better to take the first opportunity that comes along just because it's such an unstable job market,' DePrima said. About 80 years ago, and all the years before, BOTH political parties warned against an over-reliance on 'cheap labor,' either imported or outsourced. They knew that while it would provide cheap goods for a few years, it would eventually drive wages down to levels in Third World nations, thus destroying our nation as a strong economic power that had a strong middle class with buying power. That's where we are now, people. We've got 'cheap stuff' but who can still afford even the cheapest goods now? And we've got professionals vying for jobs once only fit for teens. This is a disgrace.