Summer Job Market Daunting for Elk Grove Youth

Winston Willis and Rubel Kaur are two young college students going for the same goal. Unfortunately, the odds of them accomplishing it are bleak.

Willis, 20, is home from college in Florida, while Kaur, 21, is a University of California, Davis, nursing student, and both are hoping to land summer jobs in the Elk Grove area. They attended a hiring event at on Laguna Boulevard last week, but by the time they arrived, the restaurant had stopped taking applications earlier than expected.

“It’s been really tough,” Kaur said of juggling final exams and job hunting in a daunting market. She hasn’t gotten any good leads on summer employment. And she’s not alone.

Applicants for summer work and first-time job seekers in Elk Grove are finding it particularly tough to land work this year, as the economy stalls, older workers flow into the work force and even senior citizens go back to work to make some extra money and stay busy.

“I wish I could paint a prettier picture,” said Terri Carpenter, public information officer for the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency. She said 16 to 18 years old is typically the most difficult age for finding a job. But now college-aged youths, too, face a wall of competition for entry-level jobs in retail and hospitality sectors, traditionally the sweet spot for youth employment.

The unemployment rate for California teenagers is 34.2 percent, the second-highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Carpenter said teen unemployment hovers around 30 percent for the Sacramento region.

“The age group of 18 to 21 is finding competition is much stiffer because of the dynamics of the economy,” Carpenter said. “We have older adult workers competing for the same type of job, seniors whose pensions aren’t enough, and professionals supplementing incomes because of layoffs, furloughs or reduced wages.”

Job growth in the six-county Sacramento region remains basically flat, but still well above levels seen throughout much of 2010, according to the Center for Strategic Economic Research in Sacramento. Preliminary data indicate the area lost 14,900 jobs between April 2010 and 2011, or 1.8 percent of all payroll jobs.

The local and state trends are following a weak national job market. After a burst of job creation and sharp declines in unemployment earlier in the year, just 54,000 jobs were created nationwide in May, pushing the U.S. unemployment rate up a tenth of a point, to 9.1 percent, the federal government reported. The news spurred concerns that the U.S. is headed for a double-dip recession, when the economy recovers partially, then spirals downward again.

Willis, a 2009 graduate of Sheldon High School and a junior at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla., came home for the summer and needs money for rising tuition. He is hoping to capitalize on his four years of experience working for a catering service in the Sacramento area as a high school student.

He quickly found a job cleaning shipping crates in south Sacramento, but wanted a nighttime gig at Chili’s.

“I haven’t found it too hard to find work,” he said. “My brothers just graduated from high school, though, and they’re finding it tougher.”

Unfortunately, when he arrived at Chili’s, the hostess explained they were no longer accepting applications, even though he had arrived in the allotted time with his resume and application in hand.

Chili’s manager Rob Birch said the restaurant has frequent “hiring events” to maintain a pool of strong applicants. He wouldn’t say how many positions are currently open, or how many applications were submitted at the most recent event.

Carpenter said young people who have previous experience at restaurants or retail stores, such as McDonald’s or Target, move to the top of the heap in the hiring process.

“From there, it’s attitude and dress that impacts younger workers in landing a job,” she said. “We are continually hearing that from employers.”

Carpenter said employers are turned off by young workers who spend too much time on their personal technology devices.

“Employers complain about younger workers texting on the job, looking at iPhones or iPods, or surfing the Internet, when they could be asking what else can be done in the workplace,” she said.

Tom Powelson, who owns two McDonald’s restaurants in Elk Grove, said he interviews applicants every other Monday from 2 to 4 p.m. at one of the restaurants. He is fully staffed at both restaurants, but likes to keep a pool of solid applicants.

He has seen a steep increase in candidates in the past couple years, and the applicants are getting older.

“With the economy the way it is, I see anywhere from 30 to 50 people come in on Monday afternoons,” Powelson said. “We’re seeing older people coming to apply, people with more experience, many of them looking for a second or third job.”

During a McDonald’s national hiring event last month, 220 applicants applied for work at his two restaurants.

Carpenter said the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency recently launched a website for its Sacramento Works program, which links employers and employees in Sacramento County. The program gives youth free help with interview skills, resumes and job searches.