|
Summer jobs at N.J. Shore getting applications from laid off workers |
 |
 |
Summer jobs at N.J. Shore getting applications from laid off workers
by The Associated Press
This summer, the guy running the Tilt-A-Whirl at the beach might be a laid-off, middle-aged accountant instead of the usual bored teenager.
All over the country, particularly here in New Jersey, summer resorts and shore businesses are getting swamped with applications from out-of-work Americans, many of them professionals. They are competing for jobs usually filled by young people and foreigners -- making beds, serving brunch, mowing lawns, running concession stands and operating carnival games and rides.
Six months ago, Ramon Villanueva was earning $50,000 a year at a Philadelphia company that rents out sound systems and video projectors. But he got laid off in the fall, and now he is making $8 an hour operating the Frog Bog game on the Seaside Heights boardwalk.
"I never really thought I'd be working here," Villanueva, a 22-year-old with a wife and two children, said Thursday. "I thought I'd be a customer here."
Villanueva's new job entails enticing players to use a hammer to launch rubber frogs through the air and land them inside one of four rotating lily pads to win a prize.
"If it feeds your children and puts a roof over your head, it's perfect," he said. "It's enough to live on."
Some businesses cautioned that while the flood of domestic job applicants allows them to skirt the cumbersome bureaucracy involved in hiring laborers from overseas, many of these out-of-work Americans may not be ideal employees. Some employers said they still prefer laborers from overseas.
"I have to force them to take a break," said Cindy Buziak, owner of the Holly Beach Hotel, a bed and breakfast in Wildwood. "American kids just want to get in and get out."
|
Latest Local News Articles
Latest Chamber News Articles
NJ Shore News
-
N.J. senator seeks inquiry into Cherry Hill off-track betting facility
Ed Murray/The Star-LedgerAn N.J. lawmaker is looking into a wagering facility in Cherry Hill. Above, a file photo of off-track betting tickets from a Woodbridge facility in 2008. TRENTON — A state senator has requested that the attorney general look...
-
Monmouth University, nonprofit group The Wheelmen host 100-mile antique bicycle tour in N.J.
MONMOUTH COUNTY — With his sleek plastic helmet and sweat-resistant jersey, Carson Torpey cut the perfect image of a bicyclist ready for a 100-mile ride Wednesday. The course, a winding tour of Monmouth County and the Jersey Shore, drew him...
-
N.J. counties delaying warnings, closures for beaches tested for poor water quality
Andrew Mills/ The Star-LedgerOwen Pegler, 6, catches a wave on his boogie board at the Jersey shore. Most Jersey Shore counties still wait a second day before issuing warnings or closing beaches because of poor water quality, potentially exposing beachgoers...
-
Matawan woman is accused of sexually assaulting girl she was counseling
Rodriquez FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP (Somerset County) — A Matawan woman was arrested on charges she sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl she was mentoring in Franklin Township, said acting Somerset County Prosecutor A. Peter DeMarco Jr. today. Jaysi Rodriguez, 31, worked as...
-
Jersey Shore ranks 14th for beach water quality
Zach Ornitz /The Star-LedgerChristina Noel, 8, of South Amboy, Megan Soanes, 7, and her brother Justin, 11, visiting from Toronto, Canada, attempt build a sand castle at water's edge while playing on the beach at Seven President's Park in Long...
-
Toms River man starts business to dye brown lawns green
TonyKurdzuk/The Star-LedgerA Toms River man has developed a product to dye brown lawns green. TOMS RIVER — A Toms River man has developed a product that paints brown lawns green, applying the same dye used to paint ballparks and football...
-
Two men charged with using fake $100 bills at Six Flags Great Adventure
The Star-Ledger Wire ServiceBizarro Coaster at Great Adventure Six Flags in Jackson, N.J. JACKSON TOWNSHIP — Two men were arrested and charged with forgery, after they allegedly used fake $100 bills to make small purchases at Six Flags Great Adventure...
-
Man is struck by needle at Long Beach Twp. beach
Chris Pedota/The RecordA file photo of Long Beach Island. LONG BEACH TOWNSHIP — A Spray Beach visitor injured his foot Sunday when he scraped the sand and was pricked by what appeared to be a half-inch insulin needle tip in...
-
Jackson drag race ends with car crashing through nearby front porch
Google MapsA map view of Locust Ave. and North County Line Road in Jackson, where a crash occurred following a drag race. JACKSON — A drag race resulted in a car crash Monday that sent part of a vehicle hurling...
-
U.S. Marine from Toms River is killed in Afghanistan
Anne Weis said her son, Maj. James Matthew Weis, knew the risks of flying a Marine Corps helicopter in combat. She, too, was aware of the danger. So, the former Toms River resident said, she is at peace with her...
|
|
|
