Sat, Oct 11 2008
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Published May 31, 2008 11:47 pm - With gasoline prices hovering near $4 per gallon, employers are trying to attract youths to minimum wage-paying jobs with longer shifts and more flexible schedules. Youths try to offset high gas prices Area youths carpooling, working longer shifts to offset gasoline prices By Marcia Moore The Daily Item With gasoline prices hovering near $4 per gallon, employers are trying to attract youths to minimum wage-paying jobs with longer shifts and more flexible schedules.
Valley business operators said the area is bucking the national trend of fewer summer jobs for teens due to a slowing economy, but agree everyone is feeling the pinch. "There are always jobs in this business," said Gary Daddario, manager of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Shamokin Dam, where 60 percent of the 67 employees are teens. While jobs are available, the pool of candidates seeking minimum wage jobs for $7.15 an hour has changed because of soaring fuel prices, Daddario said. In May 2007, Valley motorists paid about $3 per gallon of gasoline. Today, a gallon costs about $3.95 and the price is climbing almost daily. Rising gasoline prices mean an employee has to work about 45 minutes longer just to cover the added expense of commuting to work every day. "I've lost a few workers from the Middleburg area who found jobs closer to their home," Daddario said. "Most of the kids drive, but more of them are walking or riding bicycles to work. Even some of our full-time staff are riding bikes to save some money." Lora Morningstar said she's hired 22 youths to work at her Rita's Italian Ice stores in Hummels Wharf and Lewisburg, the same number as last year. "I'm optimistic, even with the price of gasoline going up, that people will want cool treats," she said. To help her young employees who are also paying more at the gasoline pump, Morningstar said she's scheduling longer shifts to make it worth their time and money to come to work. "I think employers who are hiring teens are thinking about those things," she said. Carpooling is encouraged at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, human resources director Stacey Knoebels McDonald said. Of the 1,500 park's employees, about one-third, or 500, are teenagers who earn minimum wage. The park pays a little less for the 150 or so employees aged 14 and 15, who work in the gift shops, selling food or working as ride assistants. Young hires are asked whether they have siblings or friends working at the park and, if so, McDonald said, they are often placed within the same department so a manager can coordinate schedules to allow for carpooling. "We try to accommodate them," she said, adding that it's mainly parents voicing concern about how much it costs to get their children to work. 
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