Editorial

Time to Think About Summer — and Jobs

The calendar declares that it is only April. Spring is just beginning, and a brutal winter is thankfully in the past tense, but barely.

Still, it’s time to talk about summer and, more specifically, summer jobs for young people.

Some of the early projections for the numbers of jobs that will open up for those in high school and college are not particularly promising, and this is not surprising. While the recession was declared officially over roughly five years ago, it never really ended in this region, and many companies remain wary about making large investments — and new hiring certainly falls into that category.

Meanwhile, in this environment, where jobs are scarce and unemployment rates, while somewhat lower, remain high, many low-end, entry-level jobs are being taken by older individuals who are simply desperate to re-enter the workforce.

But the need to create jobs for young people and enable them to experience everything that summer employment brings — from the paycheck to the ability to work as part of a team, to the benefits of being around and learning from older people — will hopefully override concerns about adding some payroll for the summer months and create some opportunities.

In Boston, Mayor Martin Walsh — in an effort to continue, if not improve upon, the strong track record of his predecessor, Tom Menino, for spurring businesses to bring on summer help — has issued what amounts to a stern challenge to companies there to create some jobs. Indeed, his goal is to surpass Menino’s record of putting 10,000 teenagers to work, and the new target is 12,000.

The same type of call to arms is needed here.

The Regional Employment Board of Hampden County has officially launched its summer jobs program — an initiative that asks companies to add to their staffs or donate money so that positions can be created at area nonprofits — and other workforce-related organizations are doing the same.

We strongly advise area business owners to heed these requests and put some young people to work. There are benefits for these youngsters, the businesses themselves, and the region as a whole.

As we said, individuals get to put some money in their pockets, but they also have the opportunity to gain some maturity by absorbing the responsibilities that come with a job — be it at Friendly’s, Six Flags, MassMutual, or a local park or swimming pool. Meanwhile, these young people could be exposed to fields, or career paths, that they might not have considered before, such as the broad realm of healthcare.

As for the businesses, they’re introducing themselves to potential future employees and, at the same time, getting an infusion of youth — and young ideas — into their organizations.

And the region benefits because, ultimately, its workforce becomes larger and more versatile, something it will need to be if it is to attract new jobs across a number of sectors.

Yes, it’s only April. The Red Sox have just started playing, and many area golf courses aren’t even open. Flowers won’t be blooming for several more weeks. But it’s time to start thinking about summer and adding a summer job — or two, or three.

Times remain tough, the economy is still an issue, and many companies still lack the confidence for big expenditures. But summer jobs are investments — in young people and this region as a whole — and we hope area business owners can be inspired to make them.