Study shows student summer job market weakened

As the summer months arrive, and students in and around campus begin the search for a summer job, national statistics for gaining summer employment may not be on their side.

However, with the economy in an upswing, students who remain jobless at this point need not be totally disappointed, and should not give up hope of finding the perfect summer job. In fact, despite the statistics, Penn students seem to be doing better this year finding summer employment than in years past, according to Career Counselor Jill Shashaty.

"The research we have seen indicates that this summer is better than last, as the economy has picked up," Shashaty said. She added that many Penn students are looking for pre-professional jobs or internships that, in addition to paying summer bills, provide an opportunity to strengthen job skills in a particular field.

However, a study undertaken by researchers at Northeastern University calls this the worst summer in 60 years for teenagers who are looking to get summer jobs. The projected employment rate for the summer months, according to the study, hovers around 37 percent of all teenagers, a statistic that has fallen sharply since it reached its peak of nearly 52 percent in the summer of 2000.

"Given the current extraordinary weakness in the teen labor market and the absence of any job stimulus program to boost teen summer employment prospects, the summer job outlook for the nation's teens is quite bleak," reads the report, entitled "The Summer Job Market for U.S. Teens 2000 - 2003 and the Projected Job Outlook for the Summer of 2004."

But Shashaty cautions that these numbers apply to all summer jobs, from internships at investment banking firms to lower-end service jobs, and the findings do not necessarily reflect the prospects that Penn students are facing.

For those who are as yet unemployed, Shashaty suggests tracking down businesses individually and contacting them directly, as well as searching through the listings on the Penn career services Web site. Many organizations, she said, are not necessarily actively seeking someone, but might hire an intern if an individual shows interest.

This, she said, is often the ideal situation for students returning from semesters abroad or looking for work after the first session of summer classes draws to an end.

"A lot of smaller organizations will be happy to have someone," she said.

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