TRAVERSE CITY -- Caleb Thompson is on the verge of his 16th birthday and hopes to celebrate by landing a summer job.
No luck, so far, for the Traverse City youth.
"My sister said (employers) hire during May, and May's pretty much over," Caleb said Friday as he rode a bike along the TART trail downtown.
He's applied at fast food restaurants, ice cream shops and retailers. A local grocery store told him if something came up, he'd get a call.
"But it's been a while," he said.
Caleb's not alone. Teenagers across Michigan are caught in an employment vice that's clamped tightly on job opportunities for young people. Employers are holding the line or cutting back on new hires as they try to ride out the bad economy. Teens also find themselves up against more job competition from adults who've been squeezed from the work force and seek jobs historically filled by younger workers.
"We've had a lot of people with extensive professional management experience drop off resumes ... it's crazy," said Joe Welsh, general manager of Cold Stone Creamery in downtown Traverse City.
Welsh hired more than 10 teens for the upcoming summer season, but he's seen a number of older people who want work.
"We started to notice last year (teens) were starting to encounter an increasing number of adult workers going for jobs that have traditionally been teen and summer occupations," said Jeff Aula, an economic analyst for the state Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth. "It makes it a little tougher for them."
Another drawback is that teenagers typically flood the labor market in late spring, creating tough competition for fewer jobs.
"They all seem to come into the market at the same time," Aula said. "It's like a meal going through a snake."
Megan Egbert, a 17-year-old junior at Traverse City Central High School, also wants work. She bused tables and worked as a hostess at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme last year. If she can't get that job back, she plans to "go up and down the strip" until she finds one.
Also looking is Reese Clement, 17, who estimates he's put out 10 to 15 applications. He hopes to land something soon.
"I figure a lot of people have already hired their summer work," he said.
Michelle Seman, 17, landed an internship at the Dennos Museum Center this summer. She considers herself lucky to get that job, and hopes the economy picks up soon. Otherwise, the situation might get tougher for people like her.
"It seems that for teens, especially, jobs are going to be harder to find," she said.
Rod Langbo, owner of Mackinaw Brewing Co. in Traverse City, said job applicants "flooded" his business this summer. He's hired the same amount of extra help this summer, but received applications from adults and college-age students for positions he traditionally filled with younger workers.
"We're taking on just as many, if not more workers this summer, but we've had more applications than we've ever had," Langbo said. "It's a tough economy right now."
Many retail businesses, a traditional source of summer employment for teens, also are keeping a lid on the number of new hires. A monthly index from the Michigan Retailers Association showed that 70 percent of state retailers surveyed will keep employee levels the same as last year for May through July, while 15 percent will reduce payrolls from last year. Only 15 percent said they plan to hire more workers this summer.
Job prospects aren't much better for teens across the country. The number of youths ages 16 to 19 who held jobs last summer dipped to 32.5 percent, according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston. It was the lowest employment rate for that age group in the 60-year history of government job data collection, and fell from 45 percent in 2000.
The center projects that employment number could drop further, to around 30 percent, this summer.
Researchers said the national labor market downturn accelerated the collapse of the teen job market across the country. Teen employment rates have sharply declined since fall 2006. The steepest falloffs have been for the youngest teens -- ages 16 and 17 -- along with males, blacks, hispanics and low-income youths.
A 2008 study on teen employment from Northeastern showed the jobless rates indicate a troubling trend because less job experience among teens leads to lower future earnings for them. Teens who work more in high school also have a smoother transition to the adult work force after graduation.
But there's no short-term upswing for teenage job prospects expected in the near future, Aula said. Michigan's 12.7 percent jobless rate remains well above the national average, and more short-term job losses loom in traditional sectors like the state's automotive industry, erosion that could further squeeze teenage job prospects.
"We still have all the issues with the state's key industries," Aula said. "A lot of the dust in Michigan still has to settle."
Job search tips for teens
-- Start looking for work early, and keep looking
-- Visit local businesses
-- Talk with school guidance counselors
-- Check newspaper want ads
-- Let friends and neighbors know you're looking for work
-- Consider self-employment such as lawn care and pet-sitting
-- Search the Internet
To make a good impression at job interviews:
-- Be on time, dress appropriately and be well-groomed
-- Bring information needed to complete a job application
-- Have a list of some references
-- Keep a positive attitude
Source: Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth
