Students out of work due to coronavirus
GBHS students are unable to find their first jobs as a result of the unemployment COVID-19 has sparked.
Although students are making the effort to find employment, they find that they are out of luck instead.
Being in a pandemic, the struggle for jobs is skyrocketing. According to the US jobs report for April, the country has lost over 20.6 million jobs with a 14.7% unemployment rate that hasn’t been seen since the Great Depression, so imagine a high schooler trying to get a job right now.
“I would like to get a job right now, but COVID has restricted that from me right now,” Atheana Sees, a junior at Granite Bay High School, said. “I would’ve applied to Target or Panda Express.
My parents would like me to get a job, but they’re not comfortable with me getting one right now because of COVID. My parents don’t want to risk any of us getting sick, so they’re really hesitant about me applying but would still like the extra money, just not right now.”
While some students are cautious of COVID and putting the high school job searches on pause, there are other students who would like to get a job despite coronavirus.
“I applied to 20+ places and got no responses back,” junior Lee Randolph said. “My parents are supportive of me getting a job. They know I want more independence, and getting a job is the first step.
I don’t remember all of them but Walmart, Safeway, Incredible Pets, Subway, Olive Garden, Dollar Tree, McDonald’s, Sally Beauty, and Rite Aid are some places I applied to.”
Because some places have to be temporarily closed, that automatically takes any job opening away. Even if places are open, however, it’s harder to hire someone new like a high school student because of all the health protocols everyone needs to follow. Businesses would also rather have more experienced workers rather than get caught up with teaching new workers.
“I had a job,” Niko Milner said. “I’m currently not working there. I worked 4 days a week from May 29th to August 8th. COVID did cause me to lose the job.”
Some students got jobs right when COVID started but later on either quit because school started or due to concerns from their parents about COVID.
Other parents didn’t let their children get a job to begin with.
“Yeah my dad was like heck no,” Kaliegh Oliver said. “He said it wasn’t something that was up to debate and that he’d rather just give me an allowance than allow me to get a job only because of corona.”
Although a lot of places are open again from grocery stores to fast food restaurants, this didn’t make things go back to normal with all the safety protocols businesses still have to follow.
Some students and parents are enjoying their stay at home, especially parents as many would much rather have their kids at home rather than putting their family at risk by working a minimum wage job.
