Is Teen Summer Employment in the U.S. Rebounding After a Long Fade?

Teen summer employment is showing some improvement in 2026, although it remains well below historical levels. Among 16- to 19-year-olds, 35.5% held a paying job during June and July, up from 33.8% last summer, with an average of 6.2 million teens working. Accommodation and food services employ 32% of working teens, while retail accounts for another 21%, making those two industries responsible for more than half of teen summer employment.

The uptick provides sellers with both a recruitment and consumer-spending story. Restaurants, hotels and resorts, retailers, entertainment and recreation businesses and other seasonal employers may need help attracting workers, while businesses serving younger consumers can benefit from reaching teens who now have their own earnings and greater spending power.