SUMMER HIRING IN FULL SWING
As the school year winds down, officials are preparing for the wave of students looking for summer work.
But the job market for teens has changed and jobs are getting harder to find. That’s why several area municipalities say they have seen their job program applications increase — and why they are adding more spots as they can.
Bridgeport officials said they are seeing more students and young people apply for jobs through the Mayor’s Summer Youth Initiative. Mayor Joe Ganim said the increase is due largely to increased exposure and positive experiences from past program alum.
“Summer vacation is a time that youth can have fun while learning a new skill that will serve them well as they grow into adulthood,” said Ganim in a press release announcing the start of the application process for the Initiative.
The city wants to fill 125 available positions, an increase from last year’s 80 positions.
Like several cities throughout Fairfield County, Bridgeport’s program traditionally links city youth with local businesses and nonprofits during the summer months.
Officials from Norwalk’s Youth Employment Program have already begun interviewing candidates for their six-week program, which has also seen an increase.
Norwalk’s program allows chil
dren from 14 to 18 years old to gain real life job skills and earn some money during their time in the program. This year’s program received 451 applicants by the time the deadline closed in March.
“Our goal was to employ at least 160 this year, up from (142) last year,” said program director Darlene Young, adding that she and her team will actually be filling 200 positions.
Ongoing challenges
It’s harder for teens to get jobs in today’s economy, according to a 2018 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, which attributed the decline, in part, to changing interests among youth and loss of jobs in the retail industry.
According to a recent report from the Department of Labor, retail,
which has historically helped fuel seasonal employment for young people, lost 3,800 jobs this year.
The drop, coupled with competition from older workers looking for additional income, continues to strain the younger job seeker pool.
Many youth programs are trying to meet the demands for summer jobs but face challenges in increasing the number of opportunities.
“I will say that we are quite behind on funding, but we hope to catch up very soon,” Young said, adding that the recent push by lawmakers to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour may also play a factor.
If minimum wage goes up, Young said, it could affect the ability to pay and to employ as many young people as possible.
“It makes it difficult to manage, so I think when that minimum wage goes up, that just impacts our ability to hire a meaningful number of young people,” she said.
In Bridgeport, the Ganim administration announced Wednesday that it would dedicate more than $250,000 in the Fiscal Year 2020 City of Bridgeport budget to fund the youth jobs program.
“It was important that we continued to provide our youth with safe and meaningful activities this summer,” Ganim said. “We are thankful for the partnerships we have built with local businesses and nonprofits that provide summer activities and give our young people the opportunity to gain real work experience.
Can’t beat a classic
Even among the changing tides, there are still jobs that have stood the test of time for teens particularly on the beach and among summer camp programs.
Bridgeport’s Parks and Recreation Department will be hiring camp counselors and lifeguards, while Milford’s Recreation Department
already has already filled its lifeguard and counselor staff following a March hiring process.
“It’s a great summer job for students,” said Bill Garfield, program supervisor to Milford’s summer playground day camp.
The six-week program has been around for decades and pays its counselors minimum wage.
In Milford, there were around 50 applications for about 20 counselor jobs, while the city employed about 20 lifeguards for all four of its beaches: Walnut, Gulf, Hawley and Anchor.
While most were returning employees, program supervisor Rich Minnix said the city hired five new guards. The remaining were returning from school.
Danbury also hit the job boards recently with openings for lifeguards, counselors, park attendants and more.