浙大宁波理工学院外语平台第五学期7.docVIP

Graduating high school seniors looking to enter the workforce and other high school students searching for summer jobs are facing a tighter job market this year as the once red-hot U.S. economy continues to cool. Nationally, the jobless rate for 16-to-19-yaer-olds continues to rise. The unemployment rate for teenagers hit 14.2 percent in April, compared with 12.8 percent last year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. “It’s very obvious that it’s going to be a little harder this summer, because businesses are much more reserved and cautious,” said Mark J. Gambill, the vice president at Manpower Inc., the nation’s largest temporary –employment agency. The New York City-based company recently surveyed 16,000 public and private employees. Temporary jobs typical are the first to suffer in a slowing economy, but other sectors that employ teenagers heavily have fallen on leaner times as well. For instance, the amusement, recreation, and hotel industries shed a combined 43,000 jobs in March and April, said John F.Stinson Jr., an economist at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ironically, the pinch comes as the nation’s overall jobless rate remains low. Statistics show that fewer teenagers have been jobless over last few summers than at any time during the previous decade. “The jobless rates are still low by historical standards,” Mr. Stinson said. Ten years ago, for example, the unemployment rate for 16-to-19-year-old workers was 21.1 percent in June and 15.7 percent in July. Last year, the rate was 14.4 percent and 12.4 percent, respectively, federal figures show. Experts say teenagers looking for summer work still can find jobs but not lots of pay. The continuing slump in the nation’s high-tech sector and lingering uncertainty over the general health of the economy have combined to limit teenagers’ job options to the type of work that American youth typically have thrived on –the retail and fast-food industries. For the past several years, experts say, large n