Early employment experiences can set the stage for years to come. Teenagers with jobs are more likely to earn more later in life. However, it can be harder for low-income youth to find jobs than their higher-income peers because of factors like fewer connections to employers and less exposure to career options. Helping young people access jobs can set them up for success by enabling them to build skills, a resume, and connections to local employers.

Summer jobs programs successfully boost employment rates and help young people earn money. Across programs in Boston, Chicago, and New York City, more than three-quarters of young people offered a spot in a jobs program secured a paid job for the summer, compared to less than one-quarter of youth not offered a spot. This difference shows how these programs open doors to jobs that would otherwise be out of reach. Participants also made an average of almost US$800 more during the summer than those not in the program. Surveys suggest that participants often used these wages to support their families with everyday expenses.

Summer jobs programs help youth avoid contact with the criminal legal system. Youth involved in the criminal legal system often face lifelong challenges, so programs that reduce early arrests and convictions matter. Summer jobs program participants were less likely to be arrested or sent to jail across programs in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City. These effects often continued beyond the end of the summer and through the following year. Researchers think this is because participants improved their social-emotional skills, changed who they spent time with or how they spent their time, or felt less financial pressure to engage in illegal activity.

Research shows that summer jobs programs can improve school outcomes like graduation rates and reduced absenteeism. Some benefits were seen for people aged 16 and older and those with frequent absences in Boston and New York. This could be because soft skills that summer jobs foster, such as being on time, can also help students at school. These programs connect youth to safe, supportive environments that foster positive youth development and provide sources of income. 

Providing paid positions with committed employers is the key to program success. In addition to jobs, some programs offer supplemental services to participants, such as mentoring or social-emotional learning support. However, these programs consistently reduced interactions with the criminal legal system, regardless of whether these services were offered. This suggests that paid jobs are the most impactful and should be prioritized. More evidence is needed to determine if or how supplemental services contribute to other program impacts.

Young people experiencing more serious challenges may benefit more from summer jobs programs. That doesn’t mean every young person facing difficult circumstances will benefit—but it does mean that summer jobs often make the biggest difference for those struggling the most to begin with.

There are open questions about how to design summer jobs programs to support longer-term employment. Most summer jobs programs don’t lead to higher rates of employment after the summer ends. An exception to this is if the program provides a letter of recommendation that can be used to signal job skills to a potential employer, which leads to small benefits. Research is still emerging on how best to do this in a way that does not inadvertently encourage dropping out to take a job. Research should dig deeper into understanding the programs’ potential for longer-term economic outcomes—for example, by measuring the impact of participating multiple summers in a row.

Local governments should leverage design lessons from successful summer youth employment programs. For example, recruitment for program participants should start many months in advance and happen in waves. This encourages engagement with youth who do not already have contact with the job market and who may face additional barriers to completing job application and enrollment steps.