20 Places Hiring Part-Time Summer Jobs In 2024

Can you believe that in just a few days, we’ll be at the middle of the year already?

With warmer weather and longer days approaching, many graduates are hopeful that they can obtain work to tie them over until they can fully kickstart their careers, while at the same time, employers are scrambling to find seasonal talent to ensure their projects run smoothly.

This is not a situation that is simply unique to the summer. It has, as a matter of fact, been going on for quite some time, due to the skills gap, layoffs, and the coinciding rise in freelance talent.

Therefore, in summer of 2024, you might expect to see more than the usual demand for vacancies, as not only are there positions waiting to be filled which only appear in the summer due to the nature of these roles, but employers are experiencing a labor shortage. Data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce revealed that although hundreds of thousands of jobs are created every month, a large proportion of those vacancies remain unfilled.

Interestingly, the Chamber of Commerce’s report highlighted that among the industries most at risk of having a talent and skills gap, the leisure, hospitality, and food service industries are those that are hit the hardest.

These industries tend to be volatile due to the nature of the roles which often demand shift work, unseasonable hours, and even unfair pay and working conditions in some cases. Hence, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a hospitality professional who has stayed with the same employer for 10, 15, or 20 years, compared to finding someone who works in the financial services sector who has remained in their role for a similar length of time.

Who Should Get A Part-Time Summer Job?

Nonetheless, part-time summer jobs, while not always one’s first career choice, can prove to be invaluable if you fit into any of the below categories of people:

• You’re a high school or college student
• You’re a teacher or professor seeking to supplement your income in your time off
• You are making a career pivot and want to test the waters before making a full commitment
• You’re seeking to acquire and hone new skills while looking for a more permanent role
• You want to stay afloat financially after being laid off
• You’re a carer or have other circumstances that prevent you from working full-time

What Industries Are Hiring Part-Time, Summer Jobs?

There are several industries that can expect to experience an increase in demand due to vacationing staff or the nature of the work involved. If you’re looking for some ideas, the industries you should look out for include:

• Agriculture
• Hospitality
• Leisure
• Tourism
• Events management
• Childcare
• Retail
• Outdoor recreation

What Are Some Part-Time Summer Jobs?

Within these sectors, some of the most familiar part-time seasonal roles you can expect would be retail worker (within a large store), and temping work as part of event set-up and security crews, since more events (especially open-air ones) tend to occur in the summertime.

Other roles you might want to consider are summer camp work (activity leader, coordinator, etc.), babysitting (since most parents will urgently need someone to watch their children for an affordable price while they are at work during the summer break), and resort and amusement park work.

Top 20 U.S. Cities Hiring Part-Time Summer Jobs

If you’re looking for the best locations to obtain part-time summer work, WalletHub recently released a report in which it compiled a list of the best cities after comparing more than 180 markets in the U.S. across 21 key metrics. The report takes into consideration the median income of part-time workers, the availability of summer jobs, and the commuter-friendliness of jobs.

Here are the top 20 cities in the U.S. that are most likely to have higher chances of available seasonal work this summer:

1. Columbia, MD
2. Scottsdale, AZ
3. Rapid City, SD
4. Portland, ME
5. Orlando, FL
6. South Burlington, VT
7. St. Petersburg, FL
8. Charleston, SC
9. Fort Lauderdale, FL
10. Pearl City, HI
11. Tampa, FL
12. Charleston, WV
13. Richmond, VA
14. Peoria, AZ
15. St. Louis, MO
16. Virginia Beach, VA
17. Chandler, AZ
18. Salt Lake City, UT
19. Chesapeake, VA
20. Wilmington, DE

Now that you know what cities and industries typically experience an uptick in hiring during the summer months due to increased demand, it’s time for you to explore opportunities in these areas, to find roles that match your skills and interests, before they get filled.