It was already weeks into summer break, and despite having started her search back in April, Madeline Freeman,18, was still unemployed.

“It just felt like it was really frustrating,” she said. “That was two full months of just looking and applying for, I mean, at least 20 some jobs.” Despite good grades, a resume filled with leadership roles in school clubs and prior work experience, Freeman couldn’t seem to find anyone interested in hiring her. “I just didn't hear back about any of it. And it was just really confusing to me.”

More and more, teens are struggling to find summer employment. “A lot of people don't want to hire kids in this age group like high school because they know either they have to go back to school or they have to go to college,” Lily Weis, 18, said. “It's a very short turn over rate. You know, they don't really want to have to deal with having so many new young people constantly.”

According to The New York Times, “Teenagers across the country are entering one of the toughest summer job markets in recent years.” USA Today reported 2025 saw the lowest projected job gain for teenagers since 2010. Experts say economic uncertainty and larger trends of a slowing job market could be to blame. Youth in Kentucky and across the country are feeling the effects of the fall of the “summer job.”

Weis herself struggled to find summer employment, an experience she says was very common among her friends and fellow class of 2025 graduates. She ultimately secured a job babysitting for a family she connected with through a friend. She says without that connection though, she might still be searching.  

“I know a few friends that their parents knew somebody or their parents' friends owned a job. So I think it's definitely easier when you know someone who knows something and they can help you out,” Weis said. For teens without such connections though, the search is even harder.

Without the pressure and time commitments of the school year, summer is an opportunity for teens to earn some extra income. With the cost of higher education at an all time high and the uncertainty of federal student aid on the line, forgoing a sumemr job all together is not a choice for many youth. Additionally, some young people also find it necessary to work to help support their families. Concerns over tariffs, inflation and rising gas prices leave many students anxious for increased spending money for themselves and their households. 

“My parents help out with necessities, but any ‘wants,’ it's on me now that I have a job. So if I want to go get food with friends or go to the movies, I'm paying for that,” Riess Starks, a junior at Ballard High School said. Starks works at a local boutique, but was looking for a second job this summer after her hours were cut back. However, her efforts came up unsuccessful when she didn’t hear back from any of the places she applied. 

Some say it’s about more than just the money. “You learn what it means to sacrifice time to work, and to have your own responsibilities to show up at a place at a certain time and to work with other people,” Weis said. “I think it's just very important to build those different life skills, even if you're not making a million dollars a week.”

For Freeman, finding a job meant feeling more like an adult. “I'm going away to college. I want to feel independent and have that job,” she said. She ultimately found the independence she was looking for when she landed a job as a grader at Kumon, a tutoring center. However, as the company doesn’t see as many kids in the summer, her hours are fairly low. 

Part of the problem is teens aren’t the only ones vying for what many would consider the typical summer job. “I think the environment is definitely very different than it was even like 10 years ago,” Weis said. “You can't really walk into somewhere and expect to get a job.” 

A slowing labor market means teens are often competing against recent college grads and even adults for entry level positions. With unemployment for all Americans reaching pandemic era levels, competition for retail, food service and other jobs historically held by teens is getting stiff.

“Having a part-time job really helps give a taste to the real world and, you know, start to see what that's gonna be like beyond high school and college,” Starks said. However, with the struggles many teens across the country faced this summer with getting employed, they will have to look elsewhere for that sense of real-word independence.