Teen Summer Hiring Could Hit Lowest Levels Since 1948, New Forecast Says
Teen Summer Hiring Could Hit Lowest Levels Since 1948, New Forecast Says
Toria SheffieldSun, June 21, 2026 at 2:30 PM UTC
0
An employee scooping ice cream (stock image)Credit: Getty -
A new forecast predicts summer 2026 will be the lowest for teen employment rates since 1948
Experts said inflation, rising costs, automation and increased competition from older workers are making it harder for teens to find traditional summer jobs
Industries that traditionally hire teens, like theme parks and resorts, are also projected to hire less this summer
Teens hoping to land a summer job this year may face the toughest hiring market in decades.
A recent forecast from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based workforce consulting company, predicts that employers will add just 790,000 jobs for workers ages 16 to 19 during the summer months this year.
This would mark the lowest summer hiring total for teens since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the data in 1948.
A teen at work (stock image)Credit: Boston Globe via Getty Images
The forecast comes after last summer's hiring total of 801,000 teen jobs, which was already the weakest on record, per the company.
"Last summer was the weakest summer for teen hiring we have ever recorded," Andy Challenger, labor and workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement published along with the forecast.
"What is striking is that it happened without a recession," he added. "Inflation and rising fuel costs are squeezing the same households and small businesses that hire teens, such as amusement parks, restaurants, retailers, and summer camps."
The firm points to several factors contributing to the slowdown, including persistent inflation, higher oil prices, increased automation, growing competition from older workers who are remaining in the workforce longer.
A person working (stock image)Credit: Getty
Many of the entry-level responsibilities that once served as a teen's first job — including order taking, basic customer service and scheduling tasks — are increasingly being automated or assisted by artificial intelligence, according to the report.
At the same time, older workers are competing for many of the same part-time and seasonal positions that traditionally went to teenagers.
"We predicted a quiet summer last year, and it played out even quieter than expected," Challenger said. "The dynamics that drove that slowdown — cost pressures, automation, employers waiting to see how consumer demand holds up — are all still in place, and in some cases they've intensified."
Advertisement
A restaurant employee (stock image)Credit: Getty
Challenger also noted that changing hiring patterns in the entertainment and leisure sectors — traditionally a major source of summer jobs for teens — have dropped significantly.
Through April, employers in those sectors announced just 8,261 hiring plans, down 70% from the same period last year, according to the forecast.
"The collapse in Entertainment and Leisure hiring announcements is one of the clearest signals we have for the summer," Challenger said. "Theme parks, resorts, hotels, and event operators are signaling they'll run leaner this year. That is exactly the kind of work teens depend on."
The report also notes that fewer teenagers are pursuing traditional summer jobs than in previous generations.
Teen labor force participation routinely exceeded 50% during the 1970s and 1980s. As of April 2026, it stood at 33.8%.
Experts said today's teens are balancing a wider range of priorities than in past generations.
"This isn't the teen workforce of the 1980s," Challenger said. "Today's 16-to-19-year-olds are balancing AP coursework, caretaking for their families, club sports that run year-round, summer enrichment programs, paid internships, and online side hustles."
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Still, the report suggests opportunities may remain available in certain regions facing labor shortages, particularly in hospitality, food service and agriculture — but families must often consider the developmental trade-offs of some of these jobs.
"In the places where labor remains tight, teens can be a real solution," Challenger said. "But families should weigh the work hours against school, sleep, and safety. A summer job is most valuable when it builds skills without crowding out everything else."
on People
Source: “AOL Money”
