Work for free this summer?!?

Term papers are in and finals are over, but if you're a teen in search of a summer job, the real test is finding one. The national unemployment rate jumped to 5.5 percent in May from 5 percent in April. But the teenage un- employment rate jumped to 18.7 percent last month from April's 15.4 percent.

One explanation for the spike is that when school's out, the number of teens wanting to work increases. Plus, when the economy slows, teens find themselves competing for fewer positions with older workers who are working longer and laid-off workers in need of a paycheck.

"Counselors used to have employers saying there are not enough kids, but over the past 10 years there's been a decline in such calls," said Kirsten Morell of Minnesota's Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

For 2007, the latest data available, the unemployment rate for Minnesota's 16- to 19-year-olds was 13.6 percent, a slight improvement from 14.7 percent in 2006. Teen workforce participation is typically higher in Minnesota than in the country as a whole, DEED reports.

If you've hit up every store at the mall for a job and you're still out of work, here are some ways to earn something of value this summer -- but it may not be green.

• Work for free, if you can afford it. No paycheck is no fun. But volunteering and unpaid internships dress up résumés and college applications. These experiences can teach teens basic job skills such as being on time and how to dress professionally as well as how to interact with bosses, clients and co-workers.

Jeylan Mortimer, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota, has studied youth and volunteering. She found volunteer opportunities "stressed the importance of being an active par- ticipant in the community and led youth to want to seek jobs in the future that would allow them to be helpful to others."

• Internships can improve your understanding of a field, helping you highlight the jobs you might like to pursue as a career and cross off the ones you definitely don't. If you're interested, it wouldn't hurt to put in a call to a teacher, even at this late date. King Banaian, chairman of the Economics Department at St. Cloud State University, said he's received word of internship openings after the students have packed up and headed home. No luck with an internship? Try a series of informational interviews or job shadows in your areas of interest.

• Search for scholarships. If you can't earn money for college by working at the mall, hit the Web in search of scholarship opportunities. The great thing about scholarships is you don't have to pay them back.

There are loads of offerings out there, from bizarre awards such as the one for people who are lefthanded (Why didn't I know about that one?) or for teens who make their prom dresses out of duct tape to money for writing a winning essay or overcoming adversity.

There are also scholarship scams, so beware of scholarships that require you to pay for an application or that guarantee you'll see some funds. Check out www.Collegeboard.com, www.Fastweb.com and www.Scholarships.com to search for scholarships.

• No gig? Make your own. You won't find 14-year-old Dave Wixon applying for jobs this summer, or the next, or the next. Wixon started his own lawn-mowing business two summers ago, going door to door in his neighborhood and promoting his services.

This year, the Medicine Lake teen distributed fliers and landed a couple of jobs with his new marketing technique.

• Sell your skills. Baby-sit, teach music lessons, sell stuff on eBay or mow lawns. There are plenty of services you can provide with low startup costs.

• Go where the jobs are. Banaian, the economist, wouldn't bother jockeying for a spot at the mall or the local ice cream joint. Retailers aren't hiring, according to DEED's teen summer job forecast. However, the health care and professional- and technical-service sectors are expected to add positions.

The Minnesota Workforce Center can help point teens to where the jobs might be and help them learn interviewing and application skills. Some sites, including south Minneapolis, also have an area called the Zone just for teen job seekers and online: www.mnwfc.org/dakota/zone. The website www.iseek.org has Minnesota employment projections through 2016. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also has national projections at www.bls.gov.

Kara McGuire writes about money • 612-673-7293 or kara@ startribune.com. Visit Kara's blog: www.startribune.com/kablog.