Trade wars, concerns over consumer spending and other economic headwinds have a new group of potential victims — teens looking for summer jobs.

The executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. predicts another less-than-stellar hiring outlook for teens, largely because of so much economic uncertainty.

“With the current sociopolitical climate, we may see fewer tourists. With the expected impact of tariffs, we may see higher prices and lower consumer demand,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of the Chicago-based firm.

The upshot: “Those who traditionally hire in the summer may hold off this year,” he said.

The company, which has been tracking summer hiring trends since 2004, said in its latest report that employers will add 1 million jobs in the three-month period covering May, June and July.

But that total is down from the 1.3 million jobs the outplacement firm predicted for last year and from the 1.1 million teens actually hired last summer. If those numbers hold up for this summer, it would be the lowest number of teens joining the workforce in 15 years, the report said.

This research does not include the many youngsters who babysit, mow neighbors’ yards and otherwise run their own small business during summer break from school.

While the Challenger report noted there are still plenty of jobs for eager beavers who want to work this summer, it will be all the more important — given the smaller number of positions available — to knock on employers’ doors as soon as possible, practice interviewing skills and turn in job applications.

June is traditionally the most popular month for teen hiring, the Challenger report said. But don’t wait until school ends to start looking. Reach out to friends, parents, instructors, coaches present and past, and friends’ parents to inquire about job openings.

In addition, look in unexpected places, such as businesses in need of organizing files online, taking charge of phone calls, and even shredding documents and managing social media.

There’s another interesting hiring trend that may impact teen employment this summer — immigration enforcement and deportations, the Challenger report noted. Their research quoted data from a spring 2024 report in the Journal of Population Economics. It found that when deportations increase, immigrant parents reduce their working hours or leave their job, “often spurring their American-born teen children to find jobs.”

But this is a slippery slope, the Challenger report said. “These circumstances may increase teen employment in some locations that rely on immigrant labor … the long-term costs from educational disruptions, mental health consequences and reduced spending power among immigrant households may outweigh any short-term benefits,” Andrew Challenger said.

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