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Builders aren't building. Retail employees aren't getting as many hours. Seniors' pensions aren't stretching as far. And everyone is complaining about the cost of gas and groceries.

The average worker is feeling the pinch of rising prices and shrinking paychecks, as the effects of the current economic slowdown ripple across the region.

Workers in the construction and retail industries have been particularly hard hit, but nobody is immune from the run-up in energy and food costs.

The unemployment rate in Massachusetts is 4.1 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That puts the state in better shape than neighboring Rhode Island, where 6.1 percent of people can't find work. But even people with steady jobs are finding their wages aren't going as far as they used to.

The weak job market also spells trouble for teenagers looking for a summer job. The percentage of the nation's 16- to 19-year-olds with a job this summer will be the smallest in at least half a century, according to research from Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies. Employees are now getting fewer hours each week at the local supermarket where Rachel Hammond works. The staffing cuts mean a smaller paycheck for Hammond, and that, combined with $3.90-per-gallon gas, has her looking for ways to save money.

"You try to walk if you can," the 18-year-old resident of nearby Pawtucket said while shopping at a local thrift shop.

Hammond is also getting an earful from the supermarket's customers about their grocery bills, which are increasing at the fastest rate since 1990.

"People complain about the prices," Hammond said.

Alison Goodwin, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transitional Assistance, said the agency has seen a major increase in the number of residents applying for federally funded food stamp benefits over the past six months.

"It is at an all-time high," she said.

The increase is also being attributed to a new online food stamp application the department has rolled out, Goodwin said.

Another woman, a 48-year-old Attleboro resident who declined to give her name, said corporate headquarters ordered a cut in hours at the newly opened Linens 'n Things at Mansfield Crossing where she works.

Now, she said, "We're not running out of town to goof off. The gas price cuts into your grocery money. I'm very selective with dining out. You watch coupons."

Business at the Attleboro florist shop Flowers By the Station has stayed steady, manager June Cooney said. "We have our regular customers," she said.

Nonetheless, the store is keeping a tight rein on its expenses.

"We probably won't hire someone in the summer, like we have in the past," Cooney said.

Across the street at Jaec's Cafe, owner Jay Eshleman said he started adjusting for the rise in food prices five months ago. To keep costs down, Eshleman has reduced his overall staff hours and begun scheduling workers for shorter shifts.

"It's a change of strategy," he said.

Ilidia Debrito, a designer and tailor in Attleboro who owns her own dressmaking shop on Union Street, said the picture she sees is mixed.

"There's many variables to the consistency of the business," she said, from gas prices to the weather.

People are still willing to spend on big events, like proms and weddings, but some people are more budget cautious and hesitant about other purchases.

"Prom season is very, very busy for me. The others around it were flat," she said. "And that's because people have to do it; they have to spend for prom."

One city resident, a 65-year-old woman who asked not to be named, said her small pension "doesn't stretch as far."

"It's very noticeable," she said. "You're buying things less. You don't buy as much."

She added: "I hope it gets better. It's got to get better."

As workers devote more of their paychecks to gas and food, sales have dropped at many of the nation's biggest retailers, including Macy's, Kohl's, J.C. Penney, and Gap.

The stores seeing their sales increase are those with deep discounts, such as Wal-Mart, Costco and Marshalls.

"As gas and food prices continue to rise and the housing market slows, consumers are facing increased financial pressure and reducing their spending, especially in discretionary categories," Gregg Steinhafel, the chief executive of Target, told Wall Street analysts last month.

One of the hardest hit businesses is The Home Depot, the nation's second-largest retailer. The home improvement and construction company announced plans to close some of its stores in the wake of a 66 percent decline in profits during the first three months of the year, which analysts attributed to the slumping housing market.

The drop in new housing construction also means less work for local builders, said Brian Dunn, former president of the Bristol Norfolk Home Builders Association.

But the impact is not uniform, he said. Construction is holding steady in some towns, while in others demand has completely dried up.

"I'm seeing activity on a daily basis, in terms of houses being sold," he said. "But I'm also hearing guys cutting back crews, I'm hearing guys working by themselves, I'm hearing guys saying they're working 40 hours a week when they'd like to work 60 hours."

The impact extends far beyond the construction sector, Dunn said.

"It goes across the board," he said. "It's the lawyer's office that isn't doing as many closings as it was before. It's the Realtor's office that's downsizing from where it was. It's the building crews that instead of a five-man crew is now a two-man crew, going out and getting day laborers when they need a five-man crew for a day."

Nonetheless, this region will likely be spared the extreme housing market downturn hitting California and Florida, Dunn said, because there is much less excess housing here.

Jim MulCahy, who owns a real estate agency in Norton, is upbeat, saying he sees "a dramatic market of opportunity for the savvy buyer."

The current situation reminds him of the 1991 downturn.

On a recent afternoon, all six of MulCahy's agents were out in the field with would-be buyers.

"You've got to work harder in this market, and some people aren't willing to," he said.

Specialized businesses also say they are still seeing strong demand. Sales remain strong at Covidien, the large medical devices firm headquartered in Mansfield, said Eric Kraus, Covidien's senior vice president for corporate communications.

"Employees at Covidien help drive these strong results and we have not seen any significant slowdown in our business thus far," he said. "Generally speaking, our products are used for a variety of medical procedures, many of which are not elective."

TED NESI can be reached at tnesi@thesunchronicle.com or 508-236-0333.