Teenage job seekers will likely find plenty of well-paying jobs this summer, economists say.
This year's strong labor market, along with worker shortages in summer jobs typically filled by teenagers, such as hospitality and recreation, suggests a good outlook, said Paul Harrington, a labor economist at Rhode Island College who is part of a group that produces an annual summer job forecast for teenagers.
Their analysis predicts that the share of 16- to 19-year-olds working this season will rise to 33.6 percent, up from 32.7 percent last year.
The outlook is strong despite concerns about a possible economic slowdown. The overall labor market has proved resilient, with 339,000 jobs added in May, even as the unemployment rate rose to 3.7% from 3.4% in April.
“Obviously, there are storm clouds over the summer outlook,” said Nick Bunker, director of North American economic research at job search site Indeed. The US Federal Reserve is raising interest rates to reduce inflation, raising fears of a possible recession.
Even so, Mr. Bunker said demand for spots this summer was strong. Alicia Sasser Modestino, an associate professor of public policy and civic affairs and economics at Northeastern University in Boston, agreed, though “it may not be as big a deal as last summer,” she said.
The pandemic kept job opportunities tight in 2020, but summer employment rebounded the following year and remained strong last summer.
Summer wages for teenagers have risen in recent years, even after adjusting for inflation, Mr. Harrington said. Last summer, the average hourly wage for teenagers rose to $14, up from $11.50 in 2019. In some parts of the country, wages for some jobs, especially lifeguards, have skyrocketed. In New York, a shortage of lifeguards has pushed wages above $20 an hour.
Restaurants expect to add 502,000 seasonal jobs this summer, the strongest hiring picture since 2017, according to the National Restaurant Association. (The team did not include numbers for the past three summers, saying the pandemic years were “non-typical” hiring periods.)
In May, the unemployment rate for teenagers rose to 10.3 percent, from 9.2 percent in April, but was little changed from 10.5 percent last year, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas expects more than one million teenage jobs to be created this summer, slightly fewer than last year. But young people are already working at higher rates than in recent years, said Andy Challenger, the company's senior vice president. In March, about 5.48 million workers aged 16 to 19 were employed, the company noted, the highest total since 2007, when 5.61 million teenagers were employed (based on non-seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics).
While amusement parks, swimming pools, restaurants and other entertainment spots will certainly need summer workers, Mr. Challenger said, the question is whether teenagers will take the jobs. “So many teenagers who want to work are already working,” he said.
But summer job seekers shouldn't wait to apply, said Indeed's Mr. Bunker. “Don't wait until the end of June.”
Here are some questions and answers about teens and summer jobs:
I am overwhelmed with studies and activities during the school year. Why should I work in the summer?
Many students must work during the summer to support themselves and their families or to save for college. But even if it's just for extra money, the benefits of a summer job go beyond earning cash, said Amy Carney, mother of six and author of “Parent on Purpose,” a parenting book.
Teens, he said, “become stronger through the uncomfortable and awkward experiences that come with working at a local restaurant, grocery store or other service industry jobs.”
Isaac Hertenstein, 17 and a rising senior in Greencastle, Ind., started a non-profit that recruits student volunteers to teach money skills to younger students. Agreed on the importance of summer jobs.
“It's the ultimate financial literacy lesson for teenagers,” she said, adding that summer jobs reinforce basics like showing up on time and value for money. “It makes a big difference,” he said, if your parents give you $10 for lunch with friends, “or if it's money you actually worked for.” He said he hoped to work as a landscaper to save money for college and gain experience as a research assistant in consumer science at a university.
Tim Ranzetta, founder of Next Gen Personal Finance, a nonprofit that teaches money management classes in schools, said he worked summers as a golfer, which helped pay for college and allowed him to spend many hours with players golfers who shared knowledge about the business world. He compared the summer job to a financial boot camp, introducing skills such as creating job applications, navigating tax forms, opening a bank account or arranging for direct deposits of wages.
How can I improve my chances of finding a summer job?
Apply for lots of jobs, said Ms. Modestino, the professor at Northeastern University. Young people can be “wildly optimistic” about their employment prospects, he said, and may believe that just because they submitted an application, they will be offered a position. However, more applications can yield multiple offers, possibly giving you options for higher pay or flexible schedules.
Ask people you know if they know of any openings, and don't turn down jobs that may not have an obvious connection to your career interests. Aadi Gujral, 17, a rising high school senior in Danville, California, who created a money skills app for young people, he said he was interested in working in finance and had done projects for his businessman father. But he also said he had worked picking blueberries on his uncle's farm.
“It exposes you to the real world,” he said. “And when you earn your own money, you quickly realize the importance of every dollar.”
Can teenagers put summer earnings into a retirement account?
Yes. A summer job can introduce teens to the benefit of saving, not just for short-term purchases but also for long-term security, said John Lanza, the author of “The Art of Allowance,” a book that teaches kids to be financially literate. “It opens conversations.”
Teens with earned income can contribute to a special retirement account known as a Roth Individual Retirement Account. Taking away even a small amount of earnings can start them on a path to long-term saving, Mr. Lanza said, and parents might consider matching contributions as an incentive. Unlike money paid into a traditional IRA, Roth IRA contributions are not tax deductible — but most teenagers don't make enough money to pay much income tax, so deductions are less useful to them. Money invested in a Roth grows tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free as long as certain rules are followed.
