Tuesday | May 22, 2012
Minimum Wage Increase May Hurt Teens Opportunities
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By
YOUNG MONEY Staff
15 March 2010
Many economists believe that it’s not just the record high unemployment that’s hurting teens but also the increase of minimum wage. “By the time the third increase to $7.25 from $6.55 took effect in July 2009, the teen jobless rate was 24.3%, and by October it peaked at 27.6% before dropping to 26.4% in January,” states the Wall Street Journal.
For black teens the numbers are even worse. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Their jobless rate climbed from 38.5% before the third wage hike to 49.8% in November 2009, before falling back to 43.8% in January. For black male teens, the rate climbed to 52.2% in December from 39.2% in July.”
Increasing the minimum wage makes hiring and training people more expensive and employers less likely to hire people. It also makes those jobs more attractive to the more experienced and more mature people who are out of work. Put all of this together and the odds are stacked against teenagers and young people.
So even though Spring is just starting, you need to start looking for your Summer job now.
Parents, you need to help your teens as much as you can. Nepotism might be a dirty word in some circles but in times like these you’ve got to work with what you’ve got—especially if you don’t want your kids living at home forever.
Here are six tips for finding a summer job:
- Start early. Start looking now. It may feel crazy with snow still on the ground but you don’t want to be the last kid on the block filling out applications.
- Network, network, network. Talk to everyone you know and tell them that you are looking for a job. You never know who knows someone who can help you.
- Sign up for RSS feeds and email alerts. These can let you know whenever a job opens up, helping you to beat the rush.
- Always dress professional. It doesn’t matter if you’re applying to work in a fast food place, it pays to always look sharp, smart and put together.
- Where do you want to work? Make a list of places that you want to work and go ask them if they are hiring and when they start hiring for the summer. Let them know that you are interested. Don’t let them forget you.
- Try temp places. During a recession employers are often more willing to hire temporary employees—they don’t have to pay unemployment, health insurance, and many other things; besides, a temp job is a foot in the door.
Here are some websites that can help:
- Groovejob.com
- Jobdoggy.com
- Teenjobsection.job
- Teensforhire.org
- Gotajob.com
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