By Omie Drawhorn
For many Stayton area teenagers, summer isn’t just a time to relax and soak up the sun. It’s an opportunity to make some money.
Melina Flores, 16, said she knows a lot of people who have had trouble finding work, but she managed to secure a job at the new Stayton location of Muchas Gracias, a fast food Mexican food restaurant chain.
“I’ve been working here two weeks,” she said recently.
She said she didn’t really have to look around for a job at all before finding one.
“I just came here and found it,” she said. “It’s my first job.”
She said a lot of people she knew applied at the cannery so she decided to go a different route.
“I’m saving my money for a car and for college,” she said. “I enjoy the work; it’s fun and not hard.”
Although Flores was fortunate enough to find a job, Nick Beleiciks, state employment economist with the Oregon Employment Department, said teen hiring has taken a hit since the start of the recession and hasn’t recovered.
“Teen hiring is essentially half of what it was before the start of the recession,” he said, quoting statistics for teenagers between 16 and 19 years old.
He said nationally, in May, teen unemployment was at 24.2 percent, which had come down slightly from last year — 26.4 percent.
Jodi May, 15, and Julie May, 17, students at Regis High School, hadn’t found jobs when interviewed for Our Town in July, but so far, they have spent their free time volunteering at a vacation Bible school and a theater camp for kids.
Julie said she also has spent a little time looking for work and has done some babysitting. She said a friend runs a daycare and she might be able to find work there.
Beleiciks said there aren’t any statistics out for this summer yet, and a few industries that would normally hire teenagers are adding jobs.
“The retail trade has seen good growth over the last year between April and May,” he said.
The leisure and hospitality industry experienced some growth but not as much as in the past.
“The opportunities are still there; employers in those industries are hiring but there’s more competition also,” he said.
Oregon employers hired nearly 27,500 new workers ages 14 to 18 in July, August, or September of 2010. Beleiciks said teen hiring will likely rebound as the economy recovers.
Businesses say they are seeing more applicants for open positions.
Doerfler’s Farm has done quite a bit of hiring this summer, and human resources manager Lindsey Zuber said the farm has seen even more applicants than normal.
“We hire both high school and college students,” she said.
Zuber said the season lasts from around the fourth of July to the end of August and each summer the farm ends up hiring around 60 people. This summer is no exception.
She said they received 125 applicants. Forty-five applicants returned from last year, so there were 125 people vying for 15 spots.
“It’s a lot higher than normal,” she said. “When people come in, a lot of people say that it’s tough out there and there aren’t as many jobs. It’s harder to get them.”
Doerfler’s Farm is selecting from a good group of people; a lot of it is the economy, Zuber said.
“It’s harder and harder for younger kids to get jobs. For the 13-15 year olds who apply, there are not a lot of other jobs.”
She said the age range of employees is between 14 and 23. Those who are 14-17 must be certified to drive tractors.
She said the large applicant pool made it hard to decide who to hire.
“A lot of it is their availability, previous experience, it’s not necessarily first come, first serve, but at a certain point we already have everybody hired,” Zuber said. “Sometimes you just close your eyes and pick because they are all good.”
Rebekah Meeks, manager at Stayton Pool, said she hasn’t done much hiring this summer because she has a lot of returning staff. There are 26 to 30 people on staff over the summer and between 16 and 19 people during the school year.
“With the economy, the staff is about the same, people still come in (to use the pool) but not as many come in for classes, and our employees often have to work split shifts.”
Pool employees work between 6 hours and 32 hours a week.
She said there were about five high school students on staff before summer, but most employees are adults.
She said a lot of people come in asking about jobs, but often they don’t have the necessary lifeguard certification.
Lynsey Mansfield, manager of Wilco in Stayton, said the store’s seasonal hiring schedule is often a conflict for high school students.
The store’s seasonal hiring starts in April when a lot of students are still in school.
“I start looking in February but a lot of kids don’t come in looking for work until June,” she said.
Seasonal help involves watering plants, stocking, and ringing up purchases. Those 18 and older can work in the warehouse.
Mansfield said she has also seen a dramatic increase in people of all ages applying for the jobs that are available. A part-time position advertised on craigslist.com received more than 200 applications.
“In the past we’ve seen 50, 75, or 100,” she said.
She said she thinks part of it is the fact that it was posted on the popular classifieds Web site, but also, more people seem to be looking for jobs.
Mansfield said with so many applicants, it’s helpful for prospective employees to come in, in addition to applying online.
“It shows interest and that you want it. Also, it’s helpful to put a name with a face,” she said.
She said she has always enjoyed working with high school students.
“It’s just timing and them being able to work the hours needed,” Mansfield said.
