[Archived] Alexandria Teens Fare Well in Depressed Job Market

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

Alexandria Teens Fare Well in Depressed Job Market

Last summer was the worst job market nationwide for teens in 37 years, according to a report produced by the Center for Labor Market Studies. When all the numbers were counted, the national employment rate for teenagers was 38.9 percent; the lowest summer employment rate since 1965. That’s the bad news.

Now the good news. Teenagers enrolled in the TeensWork! employment program in the City of Alexandria had an employment rate of 77 percent – one of the best years ever for the program.

The success of the 2002 summer employment program is due in large part to the 91 employers in the metropolitan area who supported the program by providing 135 jobs at their work sites or by sponsoring a youth through a donation that was used to pay his or her salary in a public agency. On Tuesday, Dec, 10 at 5:30 p.m. the Mayor and City Council along with the TeensWork! staff will officially thank these employers at an appreciation ceremony at City Hall, 301 King St.

Of the 275 city youth ages 14 to 21 who applied to the TeensWork! Program, 82 worked at subsidized jobs in City and state government agencies. Their wages ($5.15 per hour) were paid through the Department of Human Services and the Workforce Investment Act funds. Non-subsidized employment opportunities included filling spots at nursing homes, trade and non-profit associations, retail stores, restaurants, and shipping companies. Teens worked in clerical positions, as teachers’ assistants at childcare centers, as camp counselors and data entry clerks. The average wage earned was $7.83 an hour and they worked a 30-hour week.

Like all age groups, teenaged job seekers – both locally and nationwide -- are affected by fluctuations in the business cycle. While the late 1980’s boom provided the best employment rate for young people, the recession of the early 1990’s saw a decline in opportunities for everyone. At the recession’s low point in 1991, the employment rate for young people was 42.9 percent.

“Over the next eight years, employment opportunities for teens improved fairly steadily, rising to a peak of 46 percent in 2000,” according to the report that was prepared for the National League of Cities. “But labor markets never restored the 1989 peak of 48 percent employment.” And since the late fall of 2000, job prospects of the nation’s teens have deteriorated considerably.

In Alexandria, as elsewhere across the country, household income, geographic location and educational attainment impact a young person’s employability. The report found that nationally upper-middle-income youth (those with incomes over $60,000) fared much better at being hired than did low-income youth.

Because the TeensWork! Program targets low-income youth in Alexandria, the success of the participants is all the more critical for their future employability. Employers who hired TeensWork! applicants generally expressed overall satisfaction with the program. Nearly half said their organizations benefited from hiring a youth employee and one-third said they hope to participate in the program next year.

For more information about the TeensWork! Program in Alexandria, call Lissette Pippy at 703.838.4479 ext 222.

***