US Teens Face Toughest Summer Job Market in 78 Years

Teenage job-seekers could be facing a cruel summer thanks to inflation and rising fuel prices.

In fact, the summer of 2026 could end up being the worst summer for teenage employment since the U.S. federal government began monitoring such data in 1948, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Sunday (May 24).

That’s because rising inflation and fuel prices are putting pressure on small businesses and restaurants, both of which typically hire teenagers, Andy Challenger, of the outplacement Challenger, Gray & Christmas, told WSJ.

Employers in the entertainment and leisure space — the resorts, hotels and amusement parks that normally hire younger workers — plan to fill 70% fewer jobs than last year.

“The collapse in entertainment and leisure hiring announcements is one of the clearest signals we have,” Challenger said. “That is exactly the kind of work teens depend on.”

He forecast that teenagers will get a total of 790,000 jobs in May, June and July, down from 801,000 last year, which was itself down 25% from 2024.

“Last summer was the weakest summer for teen hiring we have ever recorded. What is striking is that it happened without a recession,” said Challenger.

One bright spot, the report added, is the demand for lifeguards, up 80% this summer. WSJ cited the example of the Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari theme park in Indiana, where the most coveted jobs for younger teenagers filled quickly this year.

Leah Koch-Blumhardt, the park’s director of communications, told the news outlet that higher gas prices might lead people to choose destinations closer to home. And even if inflation continues to cause people to stop spending altogether, the park still needs staff.

“A roller coaster takes a certain number of people to operate even on your slowest day,” Koch-Blumhardt said. “We’re not a park that’s going to shut down a ride because we don’t have enough guests in the park.”

This isn’t to say people aren’t traveling. Recent Federal Reserve data showed that 60% of surveyed households had made at least one large purchase in the prior four months, with vacations the largest category at 23%.

However, the price of fuel is weighing on people, bringing consumer sentiment down to the lowest point in more than 73 years in May, according to the most recent edition of the University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment. The May reading surpassed the previous record, set one month earlier.

“The cost of living continues to be a first-order concern, with 57% of consumers spontaneously mentioning that high prices were eroding their personal finances, up from 50% last month,” Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said in the report.