{"id":358571,"date":"2026-08-19T09:59:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T13:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&p=358571"},"modified":"2026-08-19T09:59:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T13:59:23","slug":"after-a-long-fade-is-teen-summer-employment-in-the-us-rebounding","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2026\/08\/19\/after-a-long-fade-is-teen-summer-employment-in-the-us-rebounding\/","title":{"rendered":"Is teen summer employment in the U.S. rebounding after a long fade?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Teenagers work at an ice cream shop in Warwick, Rhode Island, on May 28, 2025. (Photo by Barry Chin\/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A summer job \u2013 whether scooping ice cream, busing tables or teaching campers to make lanyards \u2013 once was a rite of passage for American teens. But far fewer teens are working such jobs now than two or three decades ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only 35.5% of U.S. teens ages 16 to 19 have held a paying job for at least part of summer 2026, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of federal employment data. That employment rate, which averages figures for June and July, is up a bit from last summer\u2019s 33.8%. (Averages from 2025 and earlier include figures for August.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As recently as 2000, more than half of 16- to 19-year-olds worked for at least part of the summer. That had been the case most summers since 1948, which is as far back as the federal jobs data goes. At the peak in 1978, 58% of teens worked for at least part of the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Despite bump this year, teen summer employment remains well below historic highs<\/strong><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
% of U.S. 16- to 19-year-olds who were employed<\/em><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\"Chart\"<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Note: Data is not seasonally adjusted. Except for 2026, “summer average\u201d is for June, July and August, and \u201crest of year average\u201d is for the other months. For 2026, \u201csummer average\u201d is for June and July only, and \u201crest of the year average\u201d is for January through May. Chart depicts three most recent recessions.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
PEW RESEARCH CENTER<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Share this chart<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t