On The Job

But for those who want gainful employment, it can be a bit of a challenge.

The nation’s high unemployment rate translates to a dearth of jobs for willing teenagers.

“It’s especially tough out there for them,” says Cheryl Abbot, regional economist for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in Dallas.

Unemployment this summer is only slightly better than a year ago, but for teens and youth, it’s two to three times higher than the overall unemployment rate, she says.

The current tough job market tells only part of the tale about the decline in summer jobs for teens. In the early to mid-1990s, about 65 percent of teens had found a job or were actively looking, Abbot says. The rate has steadily dropped since, and last year it had fallen to 48.9 percent nationally.

“Part of the labor force summer employment decline is because more kids are opting for summer school, local school districts have shortened the summer break, and more kids are busy with unpaid volunteer work in their communities or churches,” Abbot says.

In recent years, increasing numbers of summer jobs that typically went to younger workers are being filled by older people “who can’t find other types of employment,” she adds.

How tight is the teen job market? The City of Albuquerque, one of the largest summer employers, has about 900 seasonal positions, says Bonny Esquibel, manager for the city’s Human Resources Employment Division.

Up to 70 percent of those jobs go to teens, which sounds encouraging until she explains that there are up to 7,000 applicants each year trying to fill those positions.

Learning opportunity

Summer work gives teens a window into what’s in store for them when they enter the workforce in earnest as adults.

“Summer jobs are not just about the money,” Esquibel says. “Kids will learn interpersonal skills, such as interacting with other workers and with people in the community. Some kids request office jobs because they want to acquire certain skills before graduating, like computer or telephone skills, human resource skills, or get exposure to the worlds of business and finance.”

They get a sense of a job’s limitations and the expectations placed on them, Esquibel says.

Joy Forehand, public information officer for the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, gives this advice to those motivated teens.

“Teens will be competing with job seekers who may have more work experience, more education and stronger résumés,” she says. “Teens will need to highlight their strengths and really work on marketing themselves to prospective employers as well as remember the importance of networking.”

Garrett Bainbridge, 19, scans riders’ wristbands as they get aboard the Galaxi roller coaster at Cliff’s Amusement Park.See WINDOW on PAGE E4from PAGE E1Window into world of workThe 411 on teen jobs In 2010, New Mexico teens on average made up 28.8 percent of the year-round labor force, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, the teen labor force rate averaged 34.9 percent. The City of Albuquerque employs teens in summer jobs as lifeguards at swimming pools, aides at meal sites and in food services programs, and assistants in various programs with the departments of Parks and Recreation, Community Affairs, Senior Affairs and Cultural Affairs. The city also has a mentorship program in which it places teens in different departments to learn on-the-job skills. Younger teens – ages 14 and 15 – first must obtain a work permit issued by the state and available through the schools, district school offices or any New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions office or affiliated satellite Workforce Connections centers. The permits limit the number of hours they work and set the time when their workday must end. They also restrict them from jobs deemed too dangerous or inappropriate. Teens under age 18 can be paid less than the state’s $7.50 minimum hourly wage, but only for 90 calendar days. After that, they must be paid the state minimum, according to Joy Forehand, public information officer for Workforce Solutions. Most summer jobs pay about the $7.50 minimum, with some paying more, she says. By law, tipped workers in New Mexico can earn an hourly wage of no less than $2.13, which, when combined with tips, must be equal to or greater than the state’s $7.50 minimum wage, Forehand says.Earning own money brings 14-year-old to the office”I want to become more responsible,” says Audriana VanOrman, 14. Here, she files papers in the city’s purchasing department.

Audriana VanOrman, 14, is spending part of her summer working in a government mentorship program assigned to the City of Albuquerque purchasing department, where she files papers, collects mail, answers phones “and pretty much anything that they ask of me,” she says.

“This is my first job and my first summer job. I applied online back in March, I think, and they called me to come in and see what job I wanted. I put down purchasing, but I wasn’t even sure what it was. I thought it involved shopping. It’s not really about that, but I like it a lot. The people are nice and treat me with respect, like I’m an actual employee.”

If she was a bit unclear about the job description, she was deliberate in looking for an indoor job rather than something that would require her to be outdoors. “The summers here are really hot, so I was not so much interested in outside jobs,” she says.

VanOrman, who will be a freshman at Valley High School, says it’s important for her to earn her own money. “I want to become more responsible and take care of my own stuff and not have to use my parents’ money.”

Future teacher loves to be paid to play

The opportunity to work with kids is what attracted Abrionna Burgess to her summer job in a city-run therapeutic recreation program.

Operating out of Apache Elementary School, the program is essentially a day camp for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade, many of them with disabilities.

Burgess, 17, who will be a senior at Sandia High School, leads the children in arts and crafts projects, physical education games, performance arts activities and hands-on exercises to teach sharing and concentration.

The job search was not difficult for Burgess. “I learned about the therapeutic recreation program in April from a teacher in the day-care center at my high school.”

She followed up on it, and a month later she was hired.

Burgess says she was not interested in repeating her routine of last summer. “I just slept late and sat at home chilling and watching TV. I did not want to do that again,” she says.

She regards her summer job as practical experience for a career as a special education teacher. This particular training ground pays $7.50 an hour minimum wage and requires about 35 hours a week, she says.

“I absolutely love it. It’s the best job you could have. You get paid for playing with kids. This is my first job ever so I’ve never made this kind of money before. It’s amazing. I don’t even know how to spend it.”

Abrionna Burgess, 17, leads kids in games and projects in a city-sponsored therapeutic summer recreation program based at Apache Elementary School.Physical, mental challenges make lifeguarding rewarding

It is his fourth summer as a lifeguard at Haynes Park swimming pool in Rio Rancho, and Thomas Thompson figures this may be his last.

The 20-year-old mechanical engineering junior at the University of New Mexico has career goals that are far removed from water and whistles.

Still, the job has provided a host of opportunities, not the least of which has been earning money for college, as well as challenging him physically and mentally.

“To become a lifeguard, you have to be able to swim 200 meters in 3 minutes and 30 seconds,” he says. “You also have to know CPR with rescue breathing, standard first aid and how to deal with the public. Plus, all the lifeguards have to be able to teach swimming.”

By his own calculations, Thompson says, during each 40-minute rotation he walks 1.5 miles along the edge of the pool. An average workday is six hours. “This job teaches you vigilance and to push through whenever you start feeling tired and weak. That’s when you have to dig deep,” he says. “The last 20 minutes of the last rotation during a six-hour shift just really kill my feet.”

Thompson, who regularly jumps into the pool to prevent swimmers from getting in over their heads, so to speak, says he has learned to trust himself. “I have faith in my own skills and I trust my fellow lifeguards.”

But he also has picked up some on-the-job skills that should transfer nicely to most working environments, he suggests. “I can effectively work as a member of a team, I like taking charge, and I appreciate the importance of being punctual, responding quickly in high pressure situations, and staying calm.”

Story by Rick Nathanson Photographs by Adolphe Pierre-Louis â–  Of the JournalThomas Thompson, 20, keeps a vigilant eye on the water during his fourth summer as a lifeguard at Haynes Park swimming pool in Rio Rancho.

He used to be quiet and reserved by his own account. Not anymore.

“You can’t be shy at an amusement park,” says Garrett Bainbridge. “Everybody keeps coming up to you asking questions so you better be able to talk.”

The 19-year-old New Mexico State University sophomore is in his fourth year at Cliff’s and has operated nearly every ride at the amusement park. On this day he is overseeing the Galaxi roller coaster.

He originally came to Cliff’s when he was 15 and struggling to find a job. His parents, he says, had separated and his mother was stretched financially.

“I just felt I needed to start making my own money and Cliff’s gave me that opportunity. But I’ve also learned how to manage my money, where it comes from and how difficult it is to earn. So I’m really glad to have this job, but I don’t want to do this the rest of my life.”

Instead, says Bainbridge, he is studying animation and visual effects at NMSU and hopes one day to be an animator.

Fifteen-year-old counts blessings with fun gig at Cliff’sadolphe pierre-louis/journal Laura Hernandez, 15, sells ride tickets at Cliff’s Amusement Park.

Laura Hernandez passes cash and tickets through a window at Cliff’s Amusement Park. Because she worked there last summer, getting hired this season was as easy as answering a phone call from Cliff’s management, asking if she wanted to return.

About 130 people work at Cliff’s, most of them under age 20, and up to 70 percent of them are return employees, according to Linda Hays, the park’s vice president.

“Last summer was the first time I ever held a job,” says Hernandez, a 15-year-old Valley High School junior.

And, it was her first job interview. “I was nervous, thinking, ‘What if I don’t say the right things?’”

The interviewer peppered her with questions about what she enjoyed doing, was she responsible, could she get to work on time, did she have activities that would interfere with her work schedule, and the like.

Despite her nervousness, she was hired and underwent training that involved watching a video explaining park operations, customer service, safety issues and expectations for employees.

Hernandez, too, has expectations. “I want to get job experience and I want to be able to earn my own money and learn how to be responsible with it. I just started paying my own cellphone bill, and I have my learner’s permit for driving and I have to pay for my own gas.”

She also recognizes that winding up at Cliff’s was a stroke of good luck. “One of my friends got a job as a janitor at a restaurant. My job is a lot better and definitely more fun!”

Photo Credit – adolphe pierre-louis/journal
Cutline – Garrett Bainbridge, 19, scans riders’ wristbands as they get aboard the Galaxi roller coaster at Cliff’s Amusement Park.