The summer job squeeze

Seasonal work, once a rite of passage, is increasingly scarce

Summer jobs years ago were once plentiful in the U.S., but employers looking to fill positions for short periods have steadily dropped.

By LOGAN KREISBERG and DANIELA RYNOTT

Ava Mack, home before her final year studying international relations and film at the University of St. Andrews, is working at Katonah Reading Room as she has for four previous summers. She was hired before her junior year at Fox Lane High School, expected to return each summer.

Landing that seasonal job came from self-driven initiative: she walked in with a folder containing several copies of her résumé and asked to talk to the manager, Spenser Milo.

“I got really lucky,” Mack said. “They don’t want to train a college student for a summer job only for them to leave and then come back for a couple weeks in December.”

Summer jobs years ago were once plentiful in the U.S., but employers looking to fill positions for short periods have steadily dropped. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports employers are projected to hire just 790,000 workers ages 16 to 19 this summer, the second-lowest total since federal recordkeeping started in 1948.

For local businesses such as Katonah Reading Room, there is little incentive to employ someone who can only work for two to three months. Therefore, most teenagers that are successful in finding employment start in high school, work part-time during the school year or develop a connection with the business before seeking employment. 

Competition tightening

Many towns in northern Westchester hire staff for municipal pools and camps, while local private institutions also seek similar seasonal help. But many of these positions come with qualifications that can be difficult for young applicants to meet.

“Through the months of February, March, April, there’s interviewing and hiring and processing of paperwork,” said Chris Soi, Bedford’s superintendent of Recreation and Parks. Of the 244 staff hired by the Bedford Parks & Recreation Department, Soi estimated that 50% are returning workers.

And competition for these roles is steep. 

“For this particular year, we had a very strong turnout of applicants. We certainly had more applicants than we had jobs,” Soi said.

With so many spots for employment held by returning workers, openings for first-time applicants are rare, and often only materialize when a longtime employee moves on for good. 

But the limited supply of summer jobs is not the only difficulty for teenagers; meeting the right criteria to hold these positions can also impede their chances.

Common requirements include: pool staff must be at least 15, day camp counselors must be 16 under New York State Department of Health regulations, and parks maintenance workers must be 18. More significantly, many of the most sought-after roles require certifications that take time and money to obtain.

“Teenagers that hold Red Cross certifications have a better shot at getting jobs,” said Harvey Summer Programs Director Vincent Alexander. Every summer, The Harvey School runs a camp that opens up 65 jobs, including an EMT and two lifeguarding positions. 

Alexander explained there has been a local increase in speciality programs in areas like the arts, athletics and robotics. “Employment at one of these programs requires that teenagers have a specific skill set,” he said.

Qualifications just part of the equation 

For Taylor Tassio, 22, utilizing connections was an effective route when it came to landing a summer job at Mimi’s Cafe in Mount Kisco. The recent graduate from SUNY Oneonta began the search for both part-time and full-time jobs before her matriculation in May. 

She applied to roughly five or six positions, and had heard back from only one. That’s when her sister, who has worked at Mimi’s for two years, came in clutch, helping her score the job.

Tassio’s second part-time job came together in an equally unexpected way. Open to any role, she had applied to several Westchester Parks positions when a curator at Croton Point Nature Center took notice. Due to  work she had done at the Nature Center the previous summer, Tassio was able to set herself apart from other candidates vying for the same position. 

Like her gig at Mimi’s, the job essentially found her in a stroke of luck she recognizes is uncommon.

“I’d say just apply to as many jobs as you can,” Tassio said, “I would hope that maybe one of those jobs would either contact you back or it would end up working out.” 

One application not enough

For Skylee Smith, a rising junior at Fox Lane High School, landing a scoop at Ben & Jerry’s meant following a more corporate application process.

Along with a group of friends, the Bedford Village teen submitted her first application in May, scanning a QR code and answering a few questions about her availability and what she would bring to the team.

“After I didn’t hear back, I got desperate because I need money, so I applied to at least 10 other jobs and all over, even in New York City,” Smith said.

By that point, Smith felt behind. Most of her friends already had jobs, as many worked part-time throughout the school year at places like local pools, picking up more hours once summer hit. 

Then, in mid-June, the manager at Ben & Jerry’s got back to her. She now has a steady summer job, but remembers the difficulties she faced in attaining it. Her advice to other teens her age is simple: apply to a large network of jobs. “The worst that happens is you get a no and you delete their email,” she said.

Knowing when to apply can be confusing, for many students entering the workforce for the first time. Smith said she struggled to apply early enough to secure a summer job without creating an expectation that she could start before school ended. For seasonal positions outside retail and food service, however, applying early is often an advantage.

For students hoping to land a summer job in 2027, those who found work this year said the search should begin well before summer, with applicants casting a wide net and tapping into personal connections whenever possible.

Logan Kreisberg, a rising freshman at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, is a summer intern at The Recorder. Daniela Rynott is a rising sophomore studying journalism and political science at Northeastern University.