"They now have more competition. There may be fewer jobs available," says Brad Hershbein, an economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. "They kind of get stuck with the short straw."

Many factors are contributing to the competition for entry-level jobs: AI, inflation, tariffs, even those oil tankers stuck in the Persian Gulf. But all signs are pointing to 2026 being the worst job market for teens in decades."

My youngest is spending her summer so far caving online or volunteering. No job prospects after high school graduation, but that was also because she spent her senior year focusing on grades. She did well, graduated with a 3.6, but because she wasn't ahead of the pack volunteering is her only viable option right now before college, at least for experience. I've been giving her exposure to online work and e-commerce experience, but employers never give that enough credit unless you're producing $100K figures. So, she'll likely go through her first summer post-high school unemployed before college starts for her.

Summer jobs were hardly ever glamorous. I know I spent many of mine working in fast food or cleaning, but it was a job and you learned the value of the money you earned and thought twice afterwards about burning it quickly on spending. That particular lesson getting lost will be painful later as folks in their 20s struggle with managing cash flow.