OREM \u2014 Teenagers searching for employment this summer are facing limited job prospects due to widespread shutdowns in the restaurant and hospitality industries \u2014 positions that large numbers of youth tend to fill seasonally.<\/p>\n
Even in Utah where about 50% of teens participate in the labor force compared to the national average of 35%, job opportunities have shrunk this summer \u2014 a time where they\u2019d typically enter the job industry in force, said Mark Knold, Utah Department of Workforce Services chief economist.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe leading area where (COVID-19) is hitting the economy the hardest is in the leisure and hospitality sector,\u201d Knold said. \u201cWhere you\u2019ve got entertainment, theaters, amusement parks, recreational activities. Those are the kinds of places where the kids would be looking for jobs in the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pandemic\u2019s onset of social distancing and limiting of services has also impacted the restaurant and fast food industry, another big youth employer, reducing employment \u201cat least a quarter to a half of what it normally is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a good environment for them to say the least.\u201d<\/p>\n
Becky Ernstrom, 18, from Orem, is well versed at working hard in positions she\u2019s not necessarily passionate about to earn money.<\/p>\n
She said she\u2019s never had difficulty finding a job prior to this summer. But throughout the last few months, she\u2019s encountered a number of frustrations during her employment search. These difficulties have been compounded by the fact she was furloughed from her job at the BYU Store in March.<\/p>\n
Ernstrom said she\u2019d planned to work two jobs this summer to save money for her mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She started applying for work around the time everything started shutting down.<\/p>\n