The increase is already being felt throughout Butler County
Adam Jones, division director for Workforce One of Butler County, said his office has seen an uptick in summer employment hiring for teens.
“There are a couple of reasons for that,” Jones said. “First of all, it’s cheaper labor because when you’ve got youth looking for a job, they’re just getting money for the summer to buy whatever their current interest is versus some of the older folks who are looking for employment to put food on the table.”
A teen workforce making minimum wage or slightly more can also help keep labor expenses low for area business owners and give them the option to use three or four teens to cover a 40-hour shift rather than hiring a full-time employee, which could include paying benefits and possible overtime costs, Jones said.
Butler County’s increase in teen employment includes Flub’s Dari-ette, which maintains locations in Hamilton and Fairfield. The ice cream business is losing four employees this summer but replacing them with seven new workers, bringing total staffing to 56, according to Brian Connaughton, owner-manager of the business.
“With building a new storefront in Hamilton and adding a drive-thru, it took it to where we need more employees to make our business run,” Connaughton said.
Hiring levels are projected to be similar to last year and much improved from the recession years, according to a recent survey of 1,073 hourly hiring managers by Richmond, Va.-based Snagajob, the largest hourly employment network for job seekers and employers. At that time, 49 percent of hiring managers did not intend to make any hires, four points worse than the past two years.
However, the Challenger, Gray & Christmas outlook found that fewer teens are actually seeking seasonal positions.
That’s something Tom Temple of The Jug in Middletown is experiencing firsthand.
“Seems like I got more (applications) last year than this year,” he said. “I probably got 50, about twice as many as I hired. At this point I probably have 10.
“I had to ask somebody today if they would like to have a job,” he said Wednesday. “I’m not sure they (teens) are really looking” for employment.
In 2011, the number of 16- to 19-year-olds not employed nor actively seeking employment was about 11 million, of which only 1.1 million said they wanted work. Despite an increase in the number of 16- to 19-year-olds since 1994 not wanting a job or opting out of the labor force, competition is expected to stay intense.
“Right now, there are about 1.3 million unemployed 16- to 19-year-olds who are looking for work,” said John Challenger, CEO for Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “There are probably an additional 1.1 to 1.2 million who have stopped looking for work, but still want a job.”
The local increase in summer hiring for teens mirrors a national trend. Summer employment gains for 16 to 19-year-olds rose by 1.1 million jobs in 2011, a 13.2 percent gain compared to a near record low of 960,000 in 2010, according to the Challenger, Gray and Christmas study, which cited nonseasonally adjusted date from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The jump also marked the first significant increases in seven years and the first double-digit increase since 2001.
Last year also showed signs of recovery in the summer job market for Ohio teens, government data show. In April 2011, 194,000 teens were employed statewide. By the time the summer build up concluded in July, 252,000 teens were employed, surpassing the previous two years.
While the improving economy should make it easier for teens to find a job this summer, those hoping to find employment should already have started their searches, he said.
Thirteen percent of hiring managers filled their openings in February, while 11 percent were finished by March and 23 percent by April. By the end of this month, 79 percent of summer hiring will be complete.
Ayanna Morgan, 16, of Middletown, said she applied for a job at The Jug in March and started working some nights after school beginning in April.
“Most of my friends are still looking for jobs,” she said.
Morgan, who wants to save up for a car, is not yet sure what her hours will expand to once school lets out, but is willing to put in a full shift.
“Maybe not every day, but some days,” she said.
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