California’s skyrocketing state and local minimum wage, extensive state labor code, and “risky” business environment have taken a toll on workers and businesses across the state. Now Golden State economics has taken aim at another key group: teens trying to get summer jobs.
Minimum wage jobs are a key rung on the ladder for teens to enter the workforce, and provide earnings and skills opportunities for the rest of their lives. As California minimum wage mandates – some of the highest in the nation – continue to increase every year, data shows these minimum wage jobs are getting harder to find for entry-level workers.
The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows California had the highest teen unemployment rate in the country as of July, coming in at 21.6% of 16 to 19 year olds in the state that were unemployed. California moved up from second-highest earlier this year, pushing out Colorado for highest teen unemployment in the nation. This is an alarming reality: this means one in five teens trying to get a job in California this summer were unable to, and unable to gain valuable work experience as a start to their future careers.
On a national scale, California’s teen unemployment rate this summer is almost twice the national average unemployment rate. Compared to July 2024, California’s teen unemployment rate has barely changed, while the national average teen unemployment rate fell by 1.5 percentage points from 13.9% to 12.4%.
The bad news continues: California’s teens are also declining to enter the workforce at higher rates. Labor force participation (those with a job or looking for a job) among 16 to 19 year olds has plummeted from 30.4% to just 25.9% of teens trying to join the labor force in July 2025. The rate of labor force participation for California’s teens is significantly below the national average.
California’s high unemployment rates correlate with a slew of high minimum wage mandates in key industries that employ teen workers, such as retail and restaurants that employ a majority of minimum wage earners, as well as fast food restaurants now subject to a $20 minimum wage. California’s high teen unemployment rate makes it the hardest state for teens to get a summer job in the country. What’s worse, the longer-term effects of its unprecedented wage and hour policies are starting to show: teens are being discouraged from even trying to get a summer job, evidenced by declining labor force participation rates.
As California goes full steam ahead on a new state minimum wage increase scheduled for 2026, and local areas consider even more drastic measures such as Los Angeles’ $30 minimum wage ballot measure, this latest evidence raises even more concerns about how these misguided policies are hurting workers, not helping.