WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Teens and college students looking for summer jobs may find themselves scrambling to find some work in the face of a slowing economy. Soon-to-be college graduates may fare slightly better, but only if they start job hunting now.

“Economic conditions are filtering down to lower-hiring jobs,” said Cathy McCarthy, senior vice president of marketing for SnagAJob.com, a Web site with more than 100,000 postings for hourly and seasonal jobs.

About 55 percent of hiring managers in the Southern region of the country, which includes the Washington area, said they would not be hiring additional summer employees, according to a study by AP Ipsos for SnagAJob.com.

“People are holding back a little bit” when it comes to hourly jobs, said Barry Lawrence, director of public relations for McLean online job-matching company Jobfox.com.

The construction and retail sectors may be down, but food services added about 12,000 jobs per month between November and February, McCarthy said. Teens looking for summer employment should go to amusement or theme parks, movie theaters, ice cream shops and hotels now, since most positions are filled by May, McCarthy said.

College seniors shouldn’t wait until May to start their search, either.

By June, “more companies could decide to scale back,” said John Challenger, chief executive officer of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “It does look like it will get worse before it gets better,” he added, and companies may cut internship programs. Many employers plan to hire at least as many college grads as they did last year, according to a survey by Challenger’s Chicago firm. About 64 percent of hiring managers said they have the same hiring plans as several months ago, and 14 percent said they expect to hire more recent grads than expected.

“Everyone has caution hanging over their head,” Lawrence said. But in the Washington area, which has low unemployment, “good talent is still hard to find,” and more baby boomers are retiring, he said.

There’s a need to fill entry-level career positions in nursing and senior care, accounting, technology, government services and homeland security, he noted.

wblake@dcexaminer.com