Summer Help

[jeffk]

I suggest a different reality than lazy kids. My wife is a teacher in Moultonborough and we meet most of her students working all over the place. The problem is, when the population of the area quadruples or more over the summer and many summer only businesses are up and running, and the demand at businesses peaks, there are not enough local "kids" to fill all the jobs available. Some restaurants seek arrangements with foreign young people who want to work and travel. Some business hire foreign workers for the summer. But for the most part, people looking for work that don't live here are not going to move here to meet a seasonal need. There isn't that much affordable housing and what do they do in the fall when the jobs close down? Kids outside the area are busy working in their own towns.

Further, the NH unemployment rate is running at 2.6%. Effectively EVERYONE is already working. Again, who would move to NH to take a summer only job, and frankly not a high paying one?

[Greene's Basin Girl]

There are many many teenagers that spend their summers here and they do not work. That was unheard of when I was growing up.We did not want to ask our parents for spending money so we earned it ourselves. My first job was cleaning lakeside cabins for $1.00/hour at 12 years old. We certainly expected our son to work. He started waitering at Sam & Rosie's when he was 14 years old. Now he has his own software tutorial business.

[noreast]

^^^ Right. Go to the white Mountains, now It's all eastern Europeans for the summer (and some for winter). It use to be all Latino in the hospitality industry with the H2B? program. They have moved on to permanent jobs. Hard to hire at close too minimum when the unemployment #'s are like this.

[thebix]

The last two times we stopped for boat gas at Channel marine, the young ladies pumping said they worked multiple jobs. The first one was a senior at Gilford High and worked two jobs. Today the lady said she had 4 summer jobs. No lack of work ethic here, they are very motivated and apparently the need for staff is great enough to work with kids scheduling multiple jobs.

[dpg]

Originally Posted by jeffk

I suggest a different reality than lazy kids. My wife is a teacher in Moultonborough and we meet most of her students working all over the place. The problem is, when the population of the area quadruples or more over the summer and many summer only businesses are up and running, and the demand at businesses peaks, there are not enough local "kids" to fill all the jobs available. Some restaurants seek arrangements with foreign young people who want to work and travel. Some business hire foreign workers for the summer. But for the most part, people looking for work that don't live here are not going to move here to meet a seasonal need. There isn't that much affordable housing and what do they do in the fall when the jobs close down? Kids outside the area are busy working in their own towns.

Further, the NH unemployment rate is running at 2.6%. Effectively EVERYONE is already working. Again, who would move to NH to take a summer only job, and frankly not a high paying one?

JeffK: Is your wife originally from Massachusetts, Wayland maybe??

[jeffk]

Originally Posted by dpg

JeffK: Is your wife originally from Massachusetts, Wayland maybe??

Nope. Born, grown up, educated, and working in NH for the last 30 years. I am a transplant to NH as of 30 years ago.

Why?

[dpg]

Originally Posted by jeffk

Nope. Born, grown up, educated, and working in NH for the last 30 years. I am a transplant to NH as of 30 years ago.

Why?

I'm from Mass just thought I knew her. Knew someone who grew up in my town and moved to Moultonborough to teach. She did also marry someone from "up there" I believe.

[Paugus bay girl]

There are many kids today who simply don't want to work. I work in the food service industry, we have hired 4 young people in the past 4 weeks, and 2 of them only lasted a day, and another one didn't last the whole shift. They don't want to work once they see how much work it is. Its sad. They would rather live off the state.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by Paugus bay girl

There are many kids today who simply don't want to work. I work in the food service industry, we have hired 4 young people in the past 4 weeks, and 2 of them only lasted a day, and another one didn't last the whole shift. They don't want to work once they see how much work it is. Its sad. They would rather live off the state.

Kids would rather "live off the state"?! That's ridiculous. What ages are these kids, what type of jobs are they, and what is the demographic?

As a high school teacher, easily 80% of my students work too much. 11 of my 14 advisory FRESHMEN are working at least three days a week.

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

[BroadHopper]

Let's cut the chase. Demographics has a play here. The Lakes region area is becoming more of a retirement community. There is a shortage of young help to support the older population. Perhaps business should be more resilient and hire older help!

The 2.9% unemployment rate is based on the number collecting unemployment. The real unemployment rate no doubt is three or four times that.

[rsmlp]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

Kids would rather "live off the state"?! That's ridiculous. What ages are these kids, what type of jobs are they, and what is the demographic?

As a high school teacher, easily 80% of my students work too much. 11 of my 14 advisory FRESHMEN are working at least three days a week.

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

Complete agreement. Saying that kids want to live off the state is a BS generalization. THINK before you write.

[ishoot308]

As a business owner who is constantly hiring help from entry level to upper management positions, I can tell you our biggest issue is applicants passing the pre employment drug screening. 8 out of 10 applicants applying for entry level on the job training positions will not pass the pre screen drug test. This is no exaggeration! It's not just weed that is being picked up either but mainly opiates now. These entry level positions are mostly young people in their early twenty's who graduated high school and have no priorities whatsoever.

My company (non lake region) offers 80% paid health insurance, 401-k, holiday and vacation pay as well as other perks not available at many other businesses that have entry level positions. We have all but given up on entry level applicants and now rely on employment agencies such as trade source to filll our needs. It's unfortunate but for us that is what it has come to...

I completely understand Paugus Bay Girl's frustration as I see it and live it every day...

Dan

[8gv]

I was an entry level employer for my entire career.

From what I have experienced, there is truth in each of the positions poated here.

Some young folks, educated or not, are hard working and ambitious. Others lack effort and initiative. There are also the ones who are emotionally unstable and will self destruct with the smallest amount of stress.

I am happy to be retired here rather than trying to staff a patch of restaurants.

My gig was in an area with plenty of potential employees from which I could choose suitable candidates.

The age of the population here and the seasonal sales peak are two challenges I am happy not to have to endure.

[noreast]

Originally Posted by 8gv

I was an entry level employer for my entire career.

From what I have experienced, there is truth in each of the positions poated here.

Some young folks, educated or not, are hard working and ambitious. Others lack effort and initiative. There are also the ones who are emotionally unstable and will self destruct with the smallest amount of stress.

I am happy to be retired here rather than trying to staff a patch of restaurants.

My gig was in an area with plenty of potential employees from which I could choose suitable candidates.

The age of the population here and the seasonal sales peak are two challenges I am happy not to have to endure.

Bingo, It's nearly Impossible to get good entry level young help. Unemployment is so low around here that whats left are the ones who don't want to work, Or realize they can make almost as much by not working. I think It's a small percent but seems much larger due to the relatively low # actually looking for a job. Every kid I know personally under 30 work very hard, mostly still in school as well, but to contrast that, Those I only know through work that are Entry level are not willing or able to keep a job for any amount of time, And yes, they are mostly consuming opiates unfortunately. Entry level is brutal right now, and enormously Important to a small business. It's to easy to stereotype a group when it's really a tiny % that we're talking about "entry level", And I don't know where any previous generation would be if these opiates were as cheap and readily available as they are today. And by the way, The Gov war on drugs is as backwards as ever, DEA recently announced it's intentions to make Kratom a schedule 1 substance, On par with Heroin, When anyone with knowledge would tell you It may be the best way to get these kids of opiates. It seems it's a move to placate the Pharmaceutical company's, But that's a whole other thread.

[Greene's Basin Girl]

I would try to line up a job for the following summer at the end of the previous summer. It was very difficult to find a job in the area back in the 60's and70's. Our son graduated from Moultonborough Academy in 2006. He and most of his friends went off to college and have never returned to live in the Lakes Region. Many of them prefer living in an urban area after growing up in such a small town.

[MeredithMan]

My daughter is a junior in college, (nursing). Summer 2016 and Summer 2015 she worked in one of the area's beach bar/restaurants. She worked hard there her first year and was great with customers, so the place told her they wanted her back this past summer, and she happily took the job again. She had a number of days of making several hundred bucks in tips, (made almost a grand Labor Day weekend). She's a worker....does whatever needs to be done and is smiling and pleasant to the customers.

However, she had a number of co-workers both summers who were canned not long after being hired because they were either lazy, surly, and/or made dumb mistakes over and over again. Note that these were both college-age kids as well as some adults. My daughter and some of the other good workers would try to coach these folks before they got the boot, but to no avail. Note also that this past summer, she had an adult co-worker who was great at serving customers but that was her career....it wasn't just a summer job and she made a point to educate my daughter and the other "kids" how very difficult it is to get by in life with just an entry-level job.

[Descant]

MeredithMan: Sounds like your daughter will be successful at everything. Good for her. Restaurant work of any kind is not easy, and some people are just not up to it. A good restaurant worker can do anything in life. I'm happy for a couple summers experience.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Paugus bay girl

There are many kids today who simply don't want to work. I work in the food service industry, we have hired 4 young people in the past 4 weeks, and 2 of them only lasted a day, and another one didn't last the whole shift. They don't want to work once they see how much work it is. Its sad. They would rather live off the state.

I got a chuckle when a plumber handed me this business card: