Lagoon turns to teens to fill employment rosters

FARMINGTON -- The Lagoon amusement park will follow tradition and hire roughly 2,550 seasonal workers, most of them teens looking for summer work.

Lagoon is hosting its annual job fair at 10 a.m. Saturday at Farmington Junior High School, 150 S. 200 East. Applications will be accepted, but no interviews will be held, Lagoon Vice-President of Marketing Dick Andrew said.

The park also held a job fair Wednesday -- at the same location -- which drew about 1,300 job applicants, he said.

By filling most of its seasonal openings with area youths, Lagoon is operating contrary to what some other parks across the nation are experiencing during these tight economic times. According to published reports, many parks are now serving as a job sanctuary for older, more experienced workers.

"I'm aware of what they are encountering in California," Andrew said, referring to information from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.

A similar situation is also occurring in Florida, Andrew said.

California and Florida, because they are warm-weather states, are able to operate their amusement parks more days of the year.

Having extended park hours draws a higher number of experienced job applicants to those sites, because those parks can offer workers a longer employment season, Andrew said.

Lagoon's season begins part time in April and concludes the first of November.

Andrew said another factor is the difference in the unemployment rate.

Utah, as of January 2010, has an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent, according to the Department of Workforce Services.

That rate is much lower than the national unemployment rate of 9.7 percent and the unemployment rates in Florida and California, which are 11.9 percent and 12.4 percent respectively, according to national publications.

Also, the median age of Utah residents is young, only 28, according to www.statemaster.com.

And, Andrew said, the number of teens living along the Wasatch Front must also be taken into account when comparing Lagoon's seasonal hires with the staff at other amusement parks.

However, the tighter economy and the state's higher-than-usual jobless rate has affected Lagoon in a different way.

"We have a higher return rate (of employees) than what we have normally had," said Andrew, who credits the economy with bringing many workers back for another season.

At peak season, Lagoon employs about 2,700 workers, of which about 160 are full-time, year-round employees, he said.