Summer jobs are returning at a faster pace this year and, in many cases, are paying well beyond the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Fifty-three percent of employers offering summer jobs have roles that pay $15 or more per hour on average. Seventy-two percent of employers will pay their summer hires $10 or more per hour on average – up from 64 percent in 2014.
The national survey was conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder by Harris Poll between February 11 and March 6, 2015 and included a representative sample of more than 2,000 full-time, U.S. hiring and human resources managers across industries and company sizes.
Summer hiring heating up in 2015
Overall, seasonal hiring is expected to take a nice jump this summer. More than a third of private-sector employers (36 percent) are hiring seasonal workers this summer, up from 30 percent last year and an average of 21 percent from 2008-2011.
The rebound is good news for college and high-school students, common targets for employers offering internships and seasonal work during peak vacation season.
“The growing number of employers adding seasonal help in good-paying jobs this summer is a strong indicator of labor market momentum,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder and author of The Talent Equation. “Many summer jobs went away completely during the recession as companies eliminated internship programs and as households cut back on vacation and recreation spending. We expect this year’s positive outlook to carry over into full-time hiring across industries and job types.”
Who’s hiring?
IT firms and financial services employers are among the first in line for summer workers; leisure and hospitality employers, however, lead all industries.
Employers hiring seasonal workers
- Leisure & Hospitality: 50 percent
- Financial Services: 48 percent
- Information Technology: 46 percent
- Retail: 42 percent
- Manufacturing: 39 percent
- Transportation: 37 percent
- Health Care: 26 percent
While summer jobs are commonly associated with recreation and outdoors work, companies are hiring for a variety of professional and support positions, including: customer service (25 percent), office support (23 percent), engineering (17 percent) and sales (17 percent).
Temp-to-Hire
A wide majority of employers hiring this summer –77 percent – say they will consider some summer hires for permanent positions. Employers say that workers who proactively ask for more responsibilities, unafraid to contribute ideas, and are forward about their desire to stay on after the summer are the best positioned to turn the temporary job permanent.