Minnesota teens endure tough summer job market
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Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar, aka the State Fair's teen jobs program, in 2023. Photo: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Minnesota's teen unemployment rate has crept to its highest level in 12 years — a return to normal after a post-pandemic surge in hiring young workers — according to an Axios analysis of the latest U.S. Census data.
The big picture: The state's teens are enduring one of the toughest summer job markets in years, facing more competition for a dwindling number of open positions — especially in industries that typically hire teens for the summer.
- One jobs firm projected this could be the nation's slowest summer for teen hiring since 1948, the Wall Street Journal reported.
State of play: The 12-month rolling average of Minnesota's teen unemployment rate rose to 13.7% in May, the most recent month for which data is available.
- That's the highest the figure has climbed since 2014, and well beyond its COVID-recession-era spike to 13.1% in January 2021.


What they're saying: "[T]he labor market is weakening across the board. ... Teen labor force indicators are reflecting this overall weakening," analysts with the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) wrote in a recent blog post.
Driving the trend: Employers face increasing headwinds from inflation and rising fuel costs, according to the global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
- Many businesses are automating entry-level tasks such as taking orders, conducting inventory checks, and providing basic customer service, according to the report.
Case in point: The entertainment and leisure sector — which includes resorts, hotels, and theme parks that are among teens' biggest employers — was expected to fill 70% fewer jobs than last year, the firm projected.
- In Minnesota, this sector may also be recovering after shedding jobs during Operation Metro Surge, DEED's Labor Market Information office research director Angelina Nguyen told Axios.
Plus: More adults are staying in the workforce longer, often competing with teens for the same part-time or seasonal roles.
- Minnesota's overall unemployment rate (currently 4.4%) recently surpassed the national rate (4.3%) for the first time since 2007.
Yes, but: The higher unemployment rate may reflect Minnesota's teen job market "getting back to a more normal place," as DEED's Oriane Casale told MPR News.
- After COVID's onset, teens took "a lot of the customer-facing jobs that adults were unwilling to take," Casale said — and the share of Minnesota teens working or looking for jobs rose to a 20-year high: nearly 67% in the summer of 2024, per Axios' analysis.
- But fewer teens are in the labor market now, and Minnesota's teen unemployment rate is now closer to its 20-year average (~12%).
Go deeper: Advice for teen job-seekers and employers from DEED/CareerForce
