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Business & Tech

Summer Jobs for College Students Remain Scarce

UConn sophomore: 'It's incredibly frustrating' looking for work.

Rumor has it that the economy’s starting to improve and companies are hiring again. But with so many people searching for a job — any job — many of the positions typically available for youths have been filled by older adults. It has become quite a challenge for college kids to find a summer job.

The story of Natalia Pylypyszyn is just one example.  At the end of this month, the West Hartford 19-year-old will have applied for 57 positions, at places ranging from retail stores to grocery markets. She’s had only three interviews after weeks of filling out online applications and walking in off the street inquiring about work.

Most businesses haven’t bothered to respond; five companies rejected her outright without an interview.

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“It’s incredibly frustrating,” said the UConn sophomore, who is studying actuarial science and hopes to land an internship in her field after she passes certain required exams.

Ariel Erman, a sophomore at Syracuse University studying communication design, started looking for summer employment during spring break. So far, no luck.

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“I’ve looked everywhere — stores, restaurants, day care centers,” said Erman, who resides in Avon. “It seems people only want to hire someone able to work year-round.”

“It’s a wild goose chase,” she added, noting that many businesses say they will call back but never do. Erman has called one restaurant four times and each time is told to keep calling. She estimates she has filled out 20 applications.

Mack Ray, 19, of West Hartford, hasn’t found steady full-time work, but has cobbled together several part-time jobs, mostly through connections with friends. He helps out his friend Mike Kenny doing landscaping, he works as wait staff for Inspired Catering and Russell Catering, and sometimes works on weekends as public events coordinator at Riverfront Recapture, where his mother used to work.

“Everyone I talk to says it’s pretty tough for college students,” said Ray, a business and accounting major at UConn. “People want stable workers, not just someone who can work only for three months.”

Unemployment rates

According to Salvatore DiPillo, Labor Statistics Supervisor, Office of Research at the Connecticut Labor Department, the unemployment rate for Connecticut youth (ages 16-19) was 21.9 percent for 2010, compared with an overall state unemployment rate of 9.2 percent. In 2009, Connecticut youth unemployment rate was 18.8 percent and the overall statewide was 8.1 percent.

Projecting to 2011, he said, the “overall rate of unemployment has not changed much from 2010, so one might assume that the situation for youth is not much improved either.”

“Unfortunately, our unemployment rate remains persistently high at 9.1 percent, which is above the national average,” said DiPillo.

The good news, said DiPillo, is there was an increase in hiring in April in certain of Connecticut’s industry sectors, although his department does not have statistics on the age of those hired. Industries such as educational and health services, manufacturing and professional and business services have experienced an increase in jobs created.

DiPillo suggested job seekers visit www.capitalworkforce.org/documents/2010SYELPSummaryF.pdf for a summary of the Workforce Investment Boards summer youth employment programs.

In addition, students can visit SnagAJob.com, which posts hourly rate jobs; and the Connecticut Job Bank, www.jobcentral.org.

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