With Job Market Tough for Teens, Businesses See Flood of Applications

As many teenagers struggle to find work for the summer, local businesses are seeing applications far outpace their hiring needs.

Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development data from spring points to a tough job market for teens.  The teen unemployment rate  reached 13.2 percent in March 2026. That’s worse than past years when teen unemployment rates hovered between 5 percent and 8 percent. 

The data can be seen in action in the Twin Cities northwest suburbs. 

“Between May and now, we’ve gotten more applications than we normally would,” said Suzanne Varecka, owner of Honey & Mackie’s in Plymouth.

She notes that she sometimes gets multiple applications or resume drop-offs in a day.

Her Plymouth shop typically employs three times its usual staff in the summer to keep up with demand.

That’s still the case, but they only hired five new employees this year.

Most of her older employees have stuck around, including Rachel Brolsma. She’s worked there for more than four years and just came back to work after her freshman year at Iowa State.

“I’ve learned so much about leadership, teamwork, and how to communicate well, which has been really big for me, especially as a business major,” Brolsma said. “It’s been the best job, and I wouldn’t want to leave it.”

Varecka said it’s great to keep older employees on staff since they already know the ropes. But she thinks more of them sticking around could be a trickle-down effect — the older students aren’t getting internships, so they’re staying at their high school jobs. That leads to fewer job opportunities for younger teenagers entering the workforce.

Rachel Brolsma helps a customer at Honey & Mackie’s.

Full Summer Staff

And it’s not just at the ice cream shop.

Other places like the New Hope Aquatic Park are also seeing a flood of applications.

At New Hope Aquatic Park, 16-year-old Kim Hubbell recently started her first job.

She’s on pool staff, so she helps with general needs, including maintenance and concessions.

“This would only be my second shift for the season,” Hubbell said. “It’s very easy to catch and go off of, it’s not super challenging at first.”

Recreation and Facilities Supervisor Tony Portesan said most of the 90-person staff are high schoolers. Most of the staff — about 70 percent — also returned this year.

“We had limited spots, and we had a lot of applications,” Portesan said. “I ended up having to cut the applications within, I think it was less than a week.”

In the past, it’s been tougher to find employees for the pool. A grant from Hennepin County helped address those concerns by funding lifeguard classes and training.

Now, they’re on the other side of things, which is beneficial for a busy summer.

“It’s got a little bit of something for everyone, and it’s a really fun place for the summer. It gets busy,” Portesan said.

The DEED study said there are still many jobs available for teenagers this summer. 

Kim Hubbell takes food orders at New Hope Aquatic Park concessions. This is her first job.

New Hope | Plymouth