Jaelyn Chester is available for a variety of services, from restaurant service to restocking. At 17 years old, she yearns for an opportunity, demonstrating complete willingness for any task.
The exemplary student and basketball athlete, who dreams of being an engineer, has already distributed dozens of resumes in her region. Chester opens up about the difficulty: “I’m not out of work because of a lack of competence, but because the market simply isn’t hiring.”
The traditional summer break, seen by many generations of American teenagers as a crucial milestone, has proven increasingly unattainable today.
Federal data reveals that last summer, approximately one-third of young Americans between the ages of 16 and 19 got jobs. This rate contrasts significantly with the 60% peak seen in the late 1970s, and pessimistic projections from experts add to reports from frustrated young people across the country.
Nicole Bachaud, economist at ZipRecruiter, assesses that “opportunities for workers at the beginning of their career path have started to disappear”. She classifies teenagers as one of the “most marginalized groups” within the current job market, which not only creates immediate frustration, but also slows the development of essential skills and the acquisition of experience that are crucial for future careers.
Without getting a place, Chester fears that his summer will be compromised. She worries about basic expenses, like filling up her car and going to shows, as well as a planned trip to visit universities in North Carolina with friends, which is in danger of being cancelled. Therefore, the young woman continues her incessant search.
Chester carries copies of his resume in his car and has a 30-second speech ready for when he decides to go into establishments and talk to managers. She and her friends support each other, exchanging advice and even more formal clothes for interviews. Jobs that I once considered undesirable, like washing dishes, now seem perfectly acceptable.
The teenager from Lake Mary, Florida, sums up the situation clearly: “Right now, it would be hard to turn down anything.”
An analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, carried out by the consultancy Challenger, Gray and Christmas, showed a 25% reduction in the number of jobs for teenagers last summer, compared to the previous year. The company projects that inflation, oil prices and cautious hiring should generate even fewer vacancies this year, marking the lowest rate of youth hiring for the summer since 1948.
While BLS data indicates that most teens tend to work in food service and sales, Jaune Little, director of recruiting at Insperity, sees a shift. She explains that several entry-level positions were eliminated, forcing young people to compete for the remaining vacancies with more experienced candidates.
Little emphasizes that “many of the entry-level roles that existed before simply no longer exist.” She adds that available vacancies generally belong to leaner teams, with fewer resources to train new talent, prioritizing more qualified professionals, even if overqualified for the position.
Max Stephenson began his job search last year after graduating from high school, but was unsuccessful all summer. Upon entering the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, she landed a work-study position at the cafeteria, but continues to look for a more stable position.
With classes over, Stephenson finds himself without a job again. The 19-year-old resident of Little Rock, Arkansas, estimates she has sent out between 50 and 100 resumes and believes finding a minimum wage job is more difficult for her generation.
Stephenson shares his frustration: “I thought it would be a lot simpler than it actually is.” She comments that the old tip of “just walking in and shaking hands firmly” isn’t working these days.
A 2022 Pew Research Center report indicated that summer employment for teenagers declined during the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s, and suffered an even greater drop during and after the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009. The study also revealed that white teenagers are more likely to get a job compared to other racial groups.
Despite demographic differences, teenagers from diverse backgrounds have reported complex job searches. Many turn to platforms like Reddit and TikTok to vent about non-existent vacancies, managers who stop responding and applications without feedback.
Connor Vukelich is familiar with this difficulty. When he turned 16, he applied for every job he could find within 30 miles of his home near Vancouver, Washington. No offers came, and his friends faced the same situation.
Vukelich questions the situation: “There are lots of ‘We’re Hiring’ signs, but no one is actually hiring. What’s going on? Why can’t any of us get jobs?”
With the search fruitless, he ended up working on his parents’ lavender farm. The frustration of this experience, however, motivated Vukelich – now 20 years old and a student at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University – to create Poppin’ Jobs, a job search website launched this year, focused on teenagers and young people in their 20s.
Vukelich believes artificial intelligence is eliminating some potential jobs for teenagers. He also suggests that laws raising the minimum wage in certain states have put young first-job seekers in direct competition with more experienced candidates.
Regarding employers, he states that “they don’t see the value in hiring someone without experience” and, therefore, “they are not as willing to give these young people a chance”.
Some teenagers, after exhaustive searches, end up finding success. Demie Njea, 16, from Lexington, Kentucky, started looking for a job at 14, the legal working age in her state. Her initial search for jobs in cafeterias and stores expanded to roles such as janitor and child care provider. Neither in the first nor in the second summer did she receive a response, and after more than 100 applications, Njea even doubted whether she would get her first job.
Finally, a job offer came up, and Njea started working at Sonic, which left her very satisfied. However, when a 15-year-old friend began her own job search, Njea felt compelled to be realistic.
“I had to calm her down and say, ‘You’re not going to make it,'” says Njea. “It’s just not going to happen.”