For decades, most American teens worked summer jobs — not Gen Z

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Key points

• Data from the past roughly 50 years, demonstrates the most teenagers worked in the summer of 1978 with 58% holding jobs.
• During the pandemic in summer 2020, the teen employment rate dropped to 30.8% as stores and restaurants shuttered.
• Teen summer employment has shrunk dramatically over the past quarter century – especially after the dot-com bust and during the Great Recession of 2008, researchers remarked.
• By contrast, more than half of teens had summer jobs in 1996, according to the researchers.
• Only regarding a third of American teenagers had summer jobs this year, compared to more than half three decades ago, new research indicates.

See more of our coverage in your search results. Add The New York Post on Google. So much for scooping ice cream, if you're in Gen Z.

Fewer Gen Zers are donning embarrassing uniforms to work for peanuts in the heat, with just 35.5% of 16-to-19-year-olds holding gigs this summer, according to the Pew Research Center.

By contrast, more than half of teens had summer jobs in 1996, according to the researchers. This person analyzed federal unemployment numbers.

Still, the amount of teens with jobs in June and July was up a couple percentage points from last year's 33.8% – with roughly 19, 500 more teens working, according to the data.

As the report notes, economists blamed the overall summer job slump on the fact that there are fewer low-skill, entry-level jobs than in past decades.

More teens are additionally taking high school and college classes over the summer instead of suffering through the sweaty, character-building gigs, they stated.

This summer, most teens worked food service jobs, followed by jobs in the sales and transportation trades, according to the data.

During the pandemic in summer 2020, the teen employment rate dropped to 30.8% as stores and restaurants shuttered. Start your day with all you need to know. Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

For now, for decades, most American teens worked summer jobs remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.