Is the teen summer job a thing of the past?

MoneyWatch Is the teen summer job a thing of the past? .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Megan Cerullo Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting. Read Full Bio Megan Cerullo May 19, 2026 / 4:25 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google A summer job was once a seasonal tradition for millions of American teenagers looking to earn some pocket money and get a taste of the working world. That was then. Now, businesses are on track to hire a record low number of teens this summer, according to a new analysis from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "We are seeing lower participation in the workforce from teenagers, so it's a combination of lower supply of those jobs and less demand from teenagers wanting summer positions," Andy Challenger, senior vice president at the outplacement firm, told CBS News. Challenger, Gray & Christmas expects businesses to hire 790,000 teen workers this summer, which would be the lowest since the Department of Labor began tracking such data in 1948. By comparison, in the late-1990s, more than 2 million 16- to 19-year-olds worked summer jobs, the firm's data shows. As recently as the 1980s, roughly half of teens participated in the nation's labor force in some capacity; today, that figure is under 30%, according to Challenger. Overall, as of April, the U.S. had nearly 5.2 million workers ages 16 to 19, according to labor data.One sector that traditionally turned to teens for summer work — leisure and hospitality businesses — is cutting back on hiring younger workers, Challenger noted.  "We've seen a few job cut announcements in sectors where teenagers typically find jobs," he said, pointing to summer camps, restaurants, am...