http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060508/BIZ/605080347Students are losing summer jobs race
More experienced workers are competing for permanent positions in tight Mich. job market.
Dorothy Bourdet / The Detroit News
May 8, 2006
Job seekers will face stiff competition for summer work in Metro Detroit as the local economy continues to sputter and the jobless rate hovers well above the national average.
The summer job, a rite of passage for high school and college students that provides experience, cash and a dose of self-confidence, will be more elusive as more experienced workers clog the labor market and squeeze out newcomers.
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Richard Brown has rarely seen a worse job market in his 30-some years with Henry Ford Community College's job placement office in Dearborn.
"A little over a year ago, we would have at least 500-600 jobs on any given day. Today, I'm looking at about 250 jobs," Brown said.
"What we're finding is that (employers) are putting jobs on hold or they're saying, 'We can't hire, we're losing jobs ourselves,' " Brown said.
"Everybody is holding their breath with what is going to happen with the auto industry."
A mechanical engineer trained at the University of Michigan recently wandered into Brown's office looking for work, while another student confessed she was living in her car while she searched for a job to pay for school.
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