Teens Going Jobless This Summer
On the surface the job number sure looked impressive. But as one economist put it - it was all frosting and no cupcake, reports CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason.
The recovery looked to be losing momentum last month. After creating more than 200,000 jobs in April, businesses hired only 41,000 in May. Better than a year ago ...
"But it's nowhere near the kind of growth we need to put the 15 million unemployed workers in this country back to work," said Heidi Shierholz with the Economic Policy Institute.
Stocks Tumble on Weak Jobs Report
Unemployment Rate in May Drops to 9.7%
Blog: Summer Jobs Scarce for Young People
The job market is especially tough for teenagers spilling out of high school. They face one of the worst year's ever for summer jobs. The unemployment rate for teens is more than 26%.
"I'm hoping and I'm praying. I really need a job this summer," said Brittany McKenzie.
Some teens say they have been told flat out that they don't need teenagers this year.
At a high school in Eastchester, New York, senior Tara Byrne has found work as a ski camp counselor -- all the way across the country in Oregon.
But many of her classmates haven't been so lucky.
"They said we'll call you if we need you. And I never got a call," said Tsunagu Ichigawa.
At a job fair in White Plains, New York, 15-year-old Rebecca Pearl says there's just too much competition.
"It's hard to get now because a lot of college students are coming back and taking positions that usually the high schoolers would get,'' said Pearl.
"So the fact that we're having this real dearth of jobs right now can have lasting effects for this cohort of kids that just don't get that summer experience," said Shierholz, the economic analyst.
And for the typical unemployed worker, the average time to find a job now has reached nearly 5 and a half months.
