Yahoo!Finance, August 2023
The number of American teens landing summer jobs hit yet another growth spurt this year, proving they’re still here to work after they surged into the U.S. labor market during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rewind to June of 2019, teens aged 15 to 19 years old accounted for a little over 2% of new hires in the U.S job market for that month, according to data from HR and payroll company Gusto. This number nearly quadrupled in June 2021 to 8.6% and ballooned even further to 15% last year.
This year the number of working teens grew again. The data shows that they accounted for 18% of new hires in June — when teen hiring usually peaks. “The degree to which businesses continue to look to teens three years after the pandemic indicates that the rise in teen hiring is not a pandemic-related blip but a long-term trend,” Luke Pardue, Gusto economist and author of the teen hiring report, told Moneywise in an email.
And not only are more teens working, they are getting paid more. Despite pay for new hires falling overall in 2023, Gusto forecasted teens looking for jobs this summer could expect, on average, 9% higher wages than last year. But while demand for teen workers may persist — even into the fall — here’s why young Gen Zers need to be prepared for the market to cool off along with the weather.
