Bookmark & share:

E-mail this page E-mail a letter to the editor Reader Comments (below)

BY BETH QUIMBY
MaineToday Media, Inc. 05/27/2008

MaineToday Media, Inc.

Although the skyrocketing price of gas and groceries has left many gasping, there is one piece of bright economic news for Mainers: There are plenty of summer jobs to go around.

Area employers, especially in the tourist sector, are on the lookout for summer workers.

While some say they are hiring a little more conservatively than last year while they wait to see how the tourist season shakes out, many summer employers are making the same annual scramble for seasonal help as they have in past years.

"They are not exactly breaking down the doors," Larry Littlefield, front desk manager at the Norseman Resort in Ogunquit, said about workers seeking summer employment.

The national summer job outlook is not so rosy for teens. The Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston expects this summer to turn out to be the worst job market for teens in 60 years.

Last month the center predicted the teen employment rate would only reach 34.2 percent this summer, compared to 34.5 percent last year.

The teen employment rate shrank 11 percentage points since the last economic boom in 2000 and last summer.

Joseph McLaughlin, a research associate at the center, said teenagers fare worse than older workers in the job market because employers favor experienced workers.

Older workers also may hold on to entry level and seasonal jobs longer in an uncertain economy, resulting in fewer openings for teens.

Maine teens, however, have fared better than in other states, McLaughlin said. The state's summer teenage employment rate only dropped 6 percentage points between 2000 and 2007. Last summer Maine teens had the third-highest employment rate in New England at 55.7 percent. Only Vermont, at 60.8 percent, and New Hampshire, at 59.7 percent, were higher.

McLaughlin said that is because Maine has fewer immigrants who compete with teens for jobs and lacks large urban centers where teen unemployment is highest. Maine also sees a big surge in summer jobs from tourism.

"You do have this huge influx of tourists and an older population who are not going to take low-end jobs," said McLaughlin. He said Maine high schools could do a better job helping teens connect to jobs. The amount of help schools offer in helping teens connect to summer work varies. Kennebunk High School posts job openings on a bulletin board. At Portland High School, Patrick Feury, a teacher in the school's cooperative education, or work-study, program, also serves as a counselor for summer jobs. He said there are plenty of jobs for teens who want to work. Portland High students lined up Friday to fill out applications at a job fair that drew a half-dozen employers seeking both summer and year-round, part-time workers. Shaw's Supermarket was looking to hire 10 to 20 teens at the Falmouth store, and Hannaford Supermarkets was looking for front-end and bakery workers at its Forest Avenue store. "We have lots of jobs," said Danielle Despins, who was looking for 18-year-olds to fill positions with Bonney Staffing Center. Irin Atim, 17, a Portland High sophomore, filled out an application to become a server at The Woods at Canco, a retirement community. "I am looking for any kind of job that keeps me busy," she said. College career offices also reported that the summer job outlook seems strong. The career office at University of Southern Maine, where most students are on summer break, has listings for telemarketing and retail positions. "There is a very healthy job market, which surprised us a little bit with all the talk of potential recession," said Lawrence Bliss, director of career services and professional life development. Funtown Splashtown USA in Saco is looking to fill its 500 to 600 positions that pay $7 to $9 an hour and will hire people into June, said Candace Galbreath, points of sales director at the amusement park. She said the slots for 15-year-olds always fill up early, while older workers are harder to find. "I will take a teacher in a heartbeat," she said. But while many tourist businesses struggle to fill their slots, some employers, such as Big Daddy's Ice Cream in Wells, never have to search. "In 33 years we have been open we have only once had to put out a help-wanted sign, about 10 years ago," said Big Daddy's owner Margaret O'Connell, who has a summer staff of 17 workers. All of 16 people who worked at Scoop Deck Ice Cream in Wells last summer returned this year, including Jacob Andrus of Wells, a senior at Radford University in Virginia. This is his seventh summer at Scoop Deck, where he made more than $3,000 last summer. He said he likes the work because the ice cream he serves makes all the customers happy. Andrus, who plans to become a teacher, said there could be many more summers at the Scoop Deck in his future. "I would love to have my own kids work here," he said.

Bookmark and share this story: