Inflation causing more teens to enter workforce to help their families pay bills

Since the 1970s, teen participation in the labor force had been steadily declining. But now, it’s moving back upward, and has reached levels not seen since 2009, at the peak of the Great Recession. June’s jobs report showed the labor force participation rate for people ages 16 to 19 was 37.4%, up nearly 3% from the same month in 2023.

Similar to during the Great Recession, experts say financial need is driving more and more teens into the workforce right now. Consumer prices have risen more than 20% over the last three years, and that’s stretching budgets thinner and thinner for many families. For those who have teens old enough to work, having them get a part-time job to help pay the bills has often become a necessity.

Alicia Sasser Modestino, a professor who studies economics and public policy at Northeastern University, told USA Today that more than half of teens in the U.S. have jobs so they can either cover their own expenses — like a cell phone, clothing, and shoes — or help contribute to household expenses, such as rent, utilities, and groceries. She said that research shows a growing number of teens are helping pay household bills — around two-thirds of those who have jobs.

According to a survey released in May by the Federal Reserve, about 64% of parents living with children under the age of 18 said they felt financially secure in 2023, down from 69% in 2022. A 5% decrease in just a year is significant, and really shows how stretched thin some families are feeling in this economy.

When “you look at where rents have gone, where the price of groceries has gone, then having teenagers working during the summer is absolutely essential,” Modestino explained.

In July 2023, 55.0 percent of young people (persons ages 16 to 24) were employed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported at the time. The youth labor force—16- to 24-year-olds working or actively looking for work—grows sharply between April and July each year. During these months, large numbers of high school and college students search for or take summer jobs, and many graduates enter the labor market to look for or begin permanent employment. In 2023, the youth labor force grew by 2.2 million, or 10.4 percent, from April (21.5 million) to July (23.7 million).

As the costs of essential goods and services like food, housing, and healthcare continue to climb faster than wage growth, many parents are struggling to make ends meet. By working after school or on weekends, teens are helping to pay for groceries, utilities, or other bills that have become difficult for their parents to manage alone—this is the reality of our current economy.

While teen employment can provide valuable work experience, it also places additional stress on students trying to balance school, extracurricular activities, and family responsibilities. This trend highlights the broader impact of inflation on household finances and the tough choices many families face in the current economic climate.