The latest employment situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed the economy gaining a surprising 2.5 million jobs after many economists and experts expected another month of losses. According to an analysis of non-seasonally adjusted data from the BLS by global outplacement and executive and business coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., teens gained 594,000 jobs in May after losing 1,650,000 in April.
On average, since 1948, teen employment rises by 106,000 jobs between March and April, according to the BLS data. Last year, it fell by 215,000 jobs before rebounding in May, June, and July to the highest number of summer job gains for teens since 2001. (See Table 1)
“Most of the jobs coming back in May were in leisure and retail, prime industries for teen workers. Grocery stores experiencing massive demand during the onset of the pandemic moved quickly to beef up their staffs, and in many cases, those positions were filled by teen workers,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior VP of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc
