Source: KTAR.com
Recent numbers from the National Center for Policy Analysis show that the number of teens seeking a job has been dropping off for a decade.
However, since 2007 it has dropped sharply. Much of that was due to the recession. But now with things recovering, more jobs are available for teens.
The question is whether or not they’ll take them.
“It’s surprising regardless of what age group we’re talking about that people aren’t showing up for jobs,” said Brian Ruede from Old Town Group Marketing in Scottsdale.
The Old Town Group is involved with all the hiring for restaurants like Stingray Sushi, Spanish Fly Mexican Beach Club, Geisha Go-Go and Jimmy Woo’s.
At a recent job fair, all four restaurants were hiring for 150 open positions. After the job fair was over, a little over half of those spots were filled. The restaurants had to organize two more job fairs in order to fill up the rest of the openings.
“At another [job fair] last year we had about 75 positions, and 300 applicants showed up,” said Ruede. “I look at people trying to pay their bills and how they talk about the economy, and they’re not turning out for job fairs. Maybe they don’t think it’s the kind of work they want to do. If so, that’s unfortunate.”
Ruede said 150 openings didn’t require any prior experience. They were mostly positions where the employer made the decision to hire that person based on the interview.