Unemployment is lower than it’s been in 17 years[1], but that doesn’t necessarily mean teen workers will have an easier time getting a job this summer.
Last summer, Americans between the ages of 16 and 19 gained nearly 1.3 million jobs during the months of May, June and July, according to a recent analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by staffing firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. While roughly in line with the average since 2006, that figure was almost 4% lower than the previous year despite the fact that June represented the strongest monthly jobs gain for teens since 2007.
And in the coming months, Challenger expects that summer employment growth will remain stagnant for teens. That’s in line with predictions from researchers at the Drexel University Center for Labor Markets and Policy, which estimates that 30.9% of teens will have a summer job in 2018, up from 30.5% last year.
| Summer employment growth among workers ages 16 to 19 | ||
| Year | Summer jobs gained | Change from prior year |
| 2006 | 1,734,000 | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 1,635,000 | -5.7% |
| 2008 | 1,154,000 | -29.4% |
| 2009 | 1,163,000 | 0.8% |
| 2010 | 960,000 | -17.5% |
| 2011 | 1,087,000 | 13.2% |
| 2012 | 1,397,000 | 28.5% |
| 2013 | 1,355,000 | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 1,297,000 | -4.3% |
| 2015 | 1,160,000 | -10.6% |
| 2016 | 1,339,000 | 15.4% |
| 2017 | 1,288,000 | -3.8% |
| Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
See also: Move over, millennials — members of Generation Z are ready to work[2]
Overall, far fewer teens are looking for work these days. The labor-force participation rate, a measure of the share of people with jobs or looking for employment, was 35% for teens last July. Comparatively in 2000, when the U.S. economy last came close to achieving full employment, the labor-force participation rate for this group was nearly 53%.
The Great Recession hit teens particularly hard, though the decline in teen employment predates the recession to some extent. “This has...