Colorado Teens Having Hard Time Finding Summer Jobs
DENVER (CBS4) - It's not easy to find work these days, and teenagers looking for summer job are having a particular tough time.
Nationally, seven in 10 teens will be without a job this summer, and even though many teens in Colorado have jobs, others haven't been so lucky yet. One reason is many traditional youth summer jobs are now held by adult job seekers.
Whether it's a job fair for teens at Elitch Gardens or Denver Mayor Michael Hancock's teen job expo for youth, it's clear teens want to work.
Lori Mack with Youth Services in the mayor's Office of Economic Development says plans are under way for work opportunities for older youth who are out of school. She says to expect that in September or October.
Of the almost 135,000 teens available for work in Colorado last summer, three-quarters found work -- almost 96,000. However, almost 35,000, or 26 percent of teens who wanted to work in Colorado could not find a summer job. Compare that to the eight percent unemployment rate for adults in Colorado. In some cases teens could be competing with older adults for the same job.
