It will be more difficult for Hoosier teens to find summer jobs this year.
According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) there are about 294,000 fewer jobs available for teens nationally this year than in 2025.
Andrew Butters, associate professor at the IU Kelley School of Business, says that lower turnover combined with fewer layoffs is creating a situation some economists are calling a “low fire, low hire” job market.
"That certainly is having an impact on workers that are kind of entering the workforce or individuals that are attempting to get kind of their first jobs,” he said.
Butters says temporary work such as summer jobs is sometimes a way to get an idea of how companies are thinking about their workforces.
“Any jobs that are typically hired in a sort of temporary seasonal or any sort of not permanent type positions," Butters said. "Those are the easiest to be making an adjustment on as opposed to separating or, you know, firing or hiring a permanent worker.”
Michael Hicks, an economics professor and the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University says Indiana is likely feeling the effects of a downturning economy and that Indiana is “moving into a recession with stagflation”.
Hicks says consumers are spending more money on things such as groceries and gas, leaving less for recreational jobs.
Recreational jobs like sporting venues, splash parks, and swimming pools are generally the jobs available for teenagers.
“So they try to hire pretty heavily when things are good,” Hicks said. “Once the economy starts to turn bad, they're going to stop taking risks with new employees.”
“I just think it's one more data point that the United States is in a very rough economic patch that's likely to continue not just through the summer but well into 2027, even if changes, policy changes occur immediately, where we face a very stagnant economy well into next year. “
Hicks predicts the unemployment rate will increase through the end of the year and into 2027.