Briefcase

Program encourages teen jobs

Two years ago, Spokane-area teens could get entry-level summer jobs without great effort. It’s harder now, and area teens now compete against skilled 30-year-olds displaced by the economy, said Heidi Peterson, youth services manager for NextGeneration Zone, a Spokane-area consortium helping young people find good jobs.

To help employers find ways to add more jobs for young workers, the city of Spokane and Workforce Development Council have launched “hire a youth month.” It lasts through June.

Companies and human resource directors are being asked to look for creative ways to bring young people into the workplace, Peterson said.

Nancy Nelson, president of job placement firm Humanix, said the goal is to overcome the frustration teens may feel when confronting the job search, at a time when U.S. unemployment for 16- to 19-year-olds is 24 percent, according to U.S. Labor Department data.

Nelson said area businesses can help by creating paid or unpaid internships, light-entry level jobs, job shadows and even short-term jobs that teens can fill.

Spokane firms looking for information on how to hire teens can use the website at Nextgenzone.org.

Tom Sowa

WaMu bankruptcy extended

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Wednesday agreed to give Washington Mutual Inc. more time to try to nail down an agreement that would resolve shareholders’ long-standing objections to the bank holding company’s proposed reorganization plan.

Judge Mary Walrath postponed a scheduled June 29 hearing to begin considering the company’s existing reorganization plan so it can continue working to finalize a revised plan that would satisfy shareholders. The new hearing date is July 5.

Washington Mutual Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection in 2008 after its collapse, the largest bank failure in U.S. history.

Associated Press

Low-cost airlines top survey

DALLAS – The old, big carriers are supposed to provide the best service. But the low-cost carriers rank highest in customer satisfaction in J.D. Power and Associates’ annual survey of airline passengers.

In a report released Wednesday, J.D. Power says low-cost carriers scored 751 on a 1,000-point scale, up 10 points from last year. The score of traditional network carriers dropped to 651.

Among low-cost carriers, customers gave JetBlue a score of 773, followed by Southwest at 769. Among the traditional network carriers, Alaska Airlines Inc. topped the list at 680. US Airways received the lowest score, 625.

J.D. Power said the study is based on responses from more than 13,500 passengers who flew on a major North American carrier between last July and April.

Dallas Morning News