Editorial: Why teens need summer jobs and why we worry they are disappearing

Ask almost any adult about their first summer job, and they'll remember it instantly. Usually with a smile on their face.

Maybe you scooped ice cream or bused tables (or both). Perhaps you perfected your mopping form on dirty linoleum floors or folded endless piles of shirts mussed by casual shoppers.

Whatever your first gig, you likely learned a few things that stuck with you. How to be on time. How to resolve conflicts. How to take accountability. And, once your paycheck hit, your heart probably sank when you saw how much of your hard-earned wages were eaten up by taxes.

But every dollar earned came with a source of newfound pride and independence; even if it wasn't the most glamorous job in the world, having it helped you pay for gas, save for college or purchase little luxuries.

We spend enormous amounts of time worrying about how to prepare young people for adulthood while overlooking one of the best classrooms ever invented.

Part-time work.

Summer jobs aren't just about building a résumé - they build character and grit, offering the first true glimpse into the world of adulthood and what's expected of you once you get there.

The first summer job has become a disappearing rite of passage.

That's a loss not just for teenagers, but for the employers and communities that benefit from a generation learning how to work.

The youth unemployment rate grew from July 2024 to July 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The labor force participation rate changed very little, meaning young people were still looking for work at about the same rate but were less likely to find it.

That throws to the wind any curmudgeonly notions of youngsters not wanting to work.

And if these kids want to work, leaders should foster an economy that increases access to entry-level work, not decreases it.

Mayor Brandon Johnson has grown his youth summer jobs program to include many thousands of Chicago youngsters. The city partially or fully subsidizes these jobs. Without taxpayer funding, many wouldn't exist.

Ideally, kids also would have an abundance of private-sector jobs from which to choose.

Yet we've heard many anecdotal but first-hand accounts that, unless you're looking to pick up babysitting gigs, plenty of teens are finding jobs harder to come by.

Increasing hiring costs certainly doesn't help, yet Chicago is making entry-level labor more expensive. Beginning July 1, the city's minimum wage rises to $17.05 an hour for most workers, with Cook County's increasing to $15.40.

That will mean a pay increase for workers who already have a job, but it will be another obstacle in the way of an employer choosing to give an inexperienced worker a first chance.

Kids don't benefit from a job they can't get.

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This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 5:14 AM.