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Employment among 16- to 19-year olds grew by 217,000 in May. That was the biggest May employment gain for teenagers in eight years, according to an analysis of the latest employment data by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
“As the economy continues to improve, some of the people who have been taking jobs away from teens are now beginning to go back to more traditional types of jobs,” says John Challenger, the firm’s CEO. That’s making its impact felt on the youngest members of our workplace.”
Teenagers are finding more jobs in the retail, restaurant, and hospitality sectors than in recent summers, when they often found themselves competing with jobseekers in their twenties who couldn’t find work in their own fields.
Regardless of the strong start, Challenger says June hiring will provide the best indicator of how this year’s teen summer job market stacks up against previous summers. Employers hired 779,000 teen workers in June 2013.
