Where have weekend jobs for teenagers gone?

Where have weekend jobs for teenagers gone? Just now Share Save Jo Palmer BBC South Investigations Share Save Hannah Walsh , BBC South Investigations and Ema Sabljak , England Data Unit Most of us remember the excitement of our first teenage pay packet but, for many 16 and 17-year-olds today, finding a part-time job feels out of reach. Youth unemployment is higher than it has been in a decade , resulting in younger teenagers potentially being squeezed out of the market by slightly older jobseekers. Megan has spent months looking for work to earn money while studying at a sixth form college. "It's so hard," said the 17-year-old. "I've tried applying on websites but they don't accept you if you don't have work experience. "But how are you going to get that work experience if nobody lets you get it? It makes me feel like I'm not wanted… It's just horrible." Megan is not alone. Elsebeth, 17, said she had applied for multiple jobs online. "It's sort of impossible to be honest," she said. "You apply for loads of them but you don't even hear anything back. Because you're a younger person, they don't want to actually give you any job, usually they just want full-time people." Mavi said he felt "lucky" because he was able to find work at 16 through someone his dad knew, adding that most of his friends had not been so fortunate. "I think employers have an image in their head that you're young, you're not really going to take it seriously but, in the case of my friend group, I don't think that holds up at all," he said. However, one business owner told the BBC he believed it was important to hire young people. The South Downs Social cafe in Winchester, which has been running for five years, has employed many teenagers, said owner Neil Wyatt. "We've always found young people to be super hard-working, super committed and they just bring a different energy on a busy Saturday or Sunday when we're full," he said. "They learn skills that will be with them for the rest of their life....