Campbell Perkins has been getting his hands dirty in his summer job as a trail builder. 

“Most days we’re just digging up the grass and like sagebrush and mahogany and all that,” he said, in a recreation area outside his hometown of Laramie, Wyoming. “And then raking all of the organic stuff off of the trail so that it’s just dirt.” 

Much better for hiking and mountain biking.

Perkins said it’s hard work, especially in the heat, but well worth the $25 an hour he’s making. 

“Which is great for a job with no qualifications or anything as an 18-year-old,” he said. 

In June, 37.4% of 16-to-19-year-olds were either working or looking for a job, according to the latest jobs report. That’s just shy of a 15-year high of 38% back in March. 

The surge in teen employment reverses a decades-long trend of declining teen labor force participation. 

Nicole Smith, chief economist with Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce, said in the early 2000s, fewer kids were dropping out of school to join the workforce. And the low, entry-level wages teens were being offered just didn’t feel worthwhile. But pandemic labor shortages changed the equation. 

“So what’s happening is, there’s been a little bit of a pay bump,” Smith said, with the lowest paid workers in the economy seeing the fastest wage growth. 

“Young people are finding that the opportunity cost of not joining the job market has increased,” she said, now that they can command better pay and more desirable roles. 

According to the HR firm Gusto, teen workers’ pay is up 4% in 2024 over last year. That’s compared to 1.5% for older workers. 

“Teens in particular have every opportunity to hold on to the gains that they’ve seen over the last several years,” said Liz Wilke, Gusto’s principal economist. “Even though the labor market may be loosening a little bit, that’s been showing up in industries that tend to hire a lot older workers.” 

Meanwhile sectors like service, retail and construction that attract younger workers keep hiring. And Wilke said many employers have gotten comfortable trusting teenage workers in new roles. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some long term openness as a result of the opportunities teens have gotten in the last few years,” Wilke said. 

Ruby’s Inn, just outside Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, has always relied on teenage workers during the busy summer season. But since the pandemic, General Manager Lance Syrett said his youngest workers have had new opportunities. 

“Yeah, we do have 16, 17-year-old servers in our restaurant. That didn’t used to be a thing,” Syrett said. 

A few years ago, those workers might have only been competitive for dishwashing and bussing positions. But Syrett has continued to hire them in higher-paying roles even as the labor market returns to something like pre-pandemic “normal.” 

For the three teenage workers in his own house, Syrett said summer jobs have taken on new importance. 

“Having them be able to have a job here at the resort, pay some of their own bills, gas bills, car insurance, it has become more of a necessity,” Syrett said, as inflation stretches the family budget. 

In Laramie, Campbell Perkins is putting some of his summer earnings toward fun stuff. 

“I’ve spent a few hundred dollars on sports equipment. I really like volleyball so I got a nice net,” Perkins said. 

But mostly, he’s saving for college. He’ll keep living at home when he starts at the University of Wyoming this fall. 

“It kinda works out. I don’t have to pay for food and housing and all that,” Perkins said, but he will be responsible for his four-figure in-state tuition bill after scholarships. 

Perkins’ $25 an hour trail building paycheck is seasonal, so he’s on the lookout for a school-year gig where he’d make at least $15 an hour. He likes his chances.