Sweet summer shift work

GUARDS NEEDED!

We are at crunch time!! We are in need of SEVERAL more guards!!!

Accepting full- and part-time applicants, hours are flexible!

Teenagers, the Carrington Community Pool needs your help!

This is my third summer as publisher of the Independent, and I’ve seen a similar scene play out every year.

There are also some open coaching positions in New Rockford, and seemingly every local business needs one, a few or many workers to fill their roster.

The popular job site, Indeed.com, compiled a list of “25 Fantastic Summer Jobs to Consider” in April. “Lifeguard” came in at #7. The top job on the list is a camp counselor. I’m pretty sure Red Willow Bible Camp near Binford is likely looking for some of those.

All these openings make a person wonder. I know there are fewer youth in general in our communities compared to when I was a teenager, but are fewer of them working also?

The summer after my freshman year, I applied for jobs in Carrington. There were so many teenagers looking for summer jobs that I was overlooked by a few different places. They had enough kids applying who lived in town or an easy drive away, so this 15- year-old with a Bowdon address didn’t look appealing.

The employers wondered how I would get to work, and whether I would reliably drive 20 or more miles on time for my shift each day.

“We give priority to local students,” one manager told me over the phone when I called to follow up on the application I completed.

I did get a job at the Dairy Queen, an experience I’ve written about in this space before. I worked throughout high school and college, often holding down more than one job while studying and participating in extracurricular activities.

So, about that question. Are fewer kids taking part in the quintessential summer work experience today?

I ran across one study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics called the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. A representative sample of 8,984 teens were tracked over five years to gather employment data. According to that study, 86 percent of 17-year-olds enrolled in school worked at some point during the school year or the following summer of 2000-01.

The rate was higher for 18- and 19-year-olds, 87.6 and 91.2 percent, respectively.

The most common summer jobs for 17-year-old boys were cooks, cashiers, stock handlers/baggers, sales workers and groundskeepers/gardeners.

A 17-year-old girl was most likely to be a cashier, sales worker, waitress, office clerk or food preparation and service worker. That last one was my first summer job – taking orders and making ice cream treats at the Dairy Queen.

That is how I remembered it. The vast majority of my classmates held jobs during high school and college.

With that data in hand, I looked for a more recent version of the study, to see how the participation rate had changed. What I found was a more general study called “Employment and Unemployment Among Youth – Summer 2022.” This study encompasses the entire youth workforce, which is defined as all 16- to 24-year-olds working or actively looking for work.

The labor force participation rate among all youth in 2022 was 60.4 percent, apparently down from 66 percent in 2000. Not much of a decline, right?

Well, a 2017 study broke down the number further. Among youth age 16-19, the labor force participation rate was 35.2 percent, less than half the rate reported in the 2001 study. Bingo! It looks like the decline is in the number of high school students working summer jobs.

I won’t make any assumptions about why fewer youth are working today than they were in the past. I can only speak from my own experience, both personally and professionally.

Both of my daughters have held multiple jobs throughout high school. My son has been mowing lawns for the past three summers and intends to get another job as well this year.

They all know the value of money and the importance of working to earn the things they want. They also do their fair share of chores around the house and yard.

I’m also grateful to have interns working at both newspapers again this summer. Readers, you’ll be hearing from and seeing a lot of Miss Nicole Lee and Miss Lora Wobbema throughout the summer. In fact, as I type this, Lora is making plans to take pictures at the region championship baseball game today, SNR vs. LaMoure-Litchville/Marion. Nicole’s first day at the Independent is Tuesday, May 28.

Parents – talk to your kids about the work experiences available in our community this summer and encourage them to get involved.

New Rockford Park District is looking for coaches. It’s a great opportunity to remain involved in a sport you enjoy and impart your knowledge of the game to young people. They come to your games to watch you play and want your number on their jersey.

I was encouraged to see local athletes hosting camps this summer. Senior Kelsie Belquist, recovering from a torn ACL, is holding a youth volleyball camp along with 2023 grad Madi Myhre. They have to put together the programming to train the next generation of state-tournament caliber athletes for New Rockford-Sheyenne.

NR-S alum – and UND football standout – Bo Belquist is also offering training sessions this summer. Do you have a son on the youth football team who wants to be a wide receiver? Get him into some sessions with Bo.

However they choose to spend their summer, I hope youth take advantage of all the opportunities to grow as people right here in their own backyard.