By JACK KATZANEK
The Press-Enterprise
Teens looking for summer jobs in the next six weeks will face some of the same economic obstacles as last year. But in San Bernardino County there is an additional worry: There may not be any federal money for a county-run program.
A bill that would have funded a summer youth jobs program has yet to pass the U.S. Senate, and county officials worry that the measure won't be approved in time to do any good. This is on top of poor economic conditions, employers skittish about taking on new workers, and a work force that is loaded with underemployed adults. San Bernardino and Riverside counties both received federal money for summer job programs last year. The allocations were based on the counties' unemployment rates.
Riverside County still has some of that allocation and plans to use it to teach 1,278 teenagers basic job skills and get them working for about 240 hours, on either a private- or public-sector payroll this summer, said Loren Simms, operations manager for the county Economic Development Agency's work force division.
But San Bernardino County, which received less last year because its jobless rate is lower than Riverside County's, has virtually no money remaining from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocation. The funds allowed the county to place 1,864 youths in summer jobs in 2009.
San Bernardino County officials were encouraged by the federal government to spend all of last year's allocation quickly and they did so, said Janice Lindsay, deputy director for the county's Department of Workforce Development. But she said they were expecting some sort of supplemental funding for 2010.
"We fully anticipated, because of the success of the program last year, that the federal government would make more money available, Lindsay said."
A bill that would have provided local governments $600 million for 2010 summer job programs was ratified in the House of Representatives on a party-line vote. But it did not get enough votes in the Senate to avoid a potential Republican filibuster, and Lindsay is concerned that the clock might run out before there is any action.
Republicans opposed the measure because of deficit spending issues.
The Senate's bill would have provided summer jobs for as many as 500,000 youths, said Matt McAlvanah, press secretary to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., co-author of the Senate's version.
"It's searching for a path forward, but it's unclear when it will be taken up again," McAlvanah said. "We're trying to get it into some package, but time is not on our side."
Riverside County has about $3.5 million remaining from 2009, Simms said. More information about how to participate will be on a county website at the end of this week, he said.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that last summer just over 5.9 million people between the ages of 16 and 19 were working, 11 percent fewer than in 2008.
A recent study by national outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas predicts there will be an increase in teen hiring this summer, but it will be a small one. The study suggested that small gains in retail sales might spur some hiring, and that relatively inexpensive entertainment options such as movie theaters and local amusement parks might draw slightly better crowds.
Tony Masi, the athletic director at King High School in Riverside, also teaches work experience classes. Interest from employers is the slowest he can remember, he said.
"There's not much out there," Masi said. "There are other entry-level workers who are not giving up those jobs."
Students typically get jobs late in the semester, said Connie Phillips, career development teacher at Cajon High School in San Bernardino. She said she usually processes a late rush of work permits for minors.
"I do know our seniors are diligently looking for jobs and telling me they're not having any luck," Phillips said. "I tell them to keep looking."
About 35 job listings are currently posted on Victoria Gardens' Web site, said Masa Liles, the marketing manager, and many of those jobs are seasonal, so teens might have a chance. Liles said the actual number of openings at the Rancho Cucamonga mall might be higher because the bigger retailers, such as Macy's and JC Penny, tend to advertise on their own websites,
Kristin Elfring, general manager of the Lake Elsinore Outlets, informally canvassed retailers and said the majority would hire between three and 10 part-timers in mid-May. They will probably hire about the same number as last summer.
Guess, Vanity Fair and The Gap are probably going to be among the most active, Elfring said, but she cautioned teens about just taking any job.
"My advice is that teens target some things that they're really interested in," Elfring said. "Don't spend the summer in an apparel store unless you really want to be there."
George Huang, economist with the San Bernardino County Economic Development Agency, agrees that teens should not waste the summer on a minimum-wage job if they can use it to advance their careers. Internships and summer classes might be better options.
There were about 260,000 unemployed people in Inland Southern California in March, according to state reports, and thousands more are underemployed, meaning they had to downsize their careers and take some of the same jobs teens usually seek, Huang said. Most employers, given a choice, would rather hire an adult.
Huang said an employer would hesitate hiring someone who will quit in late August to return to school, and generally older workers are more reliable and better motivated.
"If you are a business, you use summer as a check-out period for workers," Huang said. "That puts kids at a major disadvantage."
Reach Jack Katzanek at 951-368-9553 or at jkatzanek@PE.com
