When I was in college, it wasn't that hard to find part-time work. As the parent of a college kid, I'll tell you that there are very few part-time grunt jobs available. Employers want full-time only for even minimum-wage jobs that, in our city, used to go part-time to college kids and teenagers.
Oh really. Ever apply at any Grocery stores? I use to work a second job at a major grocery chain. We NEVER had enough cashiers. All of our people are part time except for management or department heads. Virtually all the convience stores I go by everyday have "help wanted" signs up. Funny thing too. All of these jobs pay several dollars OVER minimum wage to START.
We have a grocery chain here in town that used to be very good about hiring kids like you speak of. Now, they want 35 to 38 hours per week from the kids, where the same chain used to be strict about having kids work around 20 hours per week. It's difficult for college kids to take, say, 19 semester hours and work 38 hours per week, AND make it out in 4 or 4.5 years.
Okay, I have to just interject here that things are a LOT different in Texas than they are in Minnesota apparently.
It is very true that it is extremely difficult for teenagers, clean cut and ready to work teenagers(!), to find employment in the North Texas area.
Probably true throughout the rest of the state as well.
My nephew finally got a job at a fast food place where he is the ONLY worker who is English only. He is not allowed to cook or make food - that is only for the ones who speak NO English.
There are plenty of businesses in this area that fly TWO flags, EQUAL to each other and that is the US and Mexican flag.
There aren't any help wanted signs around here. In fact, there are lots of areas where groups of illegals (100's) congregate waiting for work. They loiter, hang out, litter, and generally cause an eyesore.
Try living near a major metro area of a border state and you will get a glimpse of what is headed your way.
I've read several of your posts on this thread. Your experiences in Minnesota are much different than the realities in high immigration states. Minority teen employment in NJ is now at the highest level ever recorded, including the years after the civil rights riots in NJ's major urban centers. Unemployment foe African American teens is so high the NJ State department of Labor has publicly said they have no confidence in their unemployment numbers for young adults, there are so many unemployed they can no longer accurately account for them in the state.
It's causing serious problems in NJ's cities, ten's of thousands of young men are without work.