Unemployment remained steady in Missouri in April — but teen summer hiring may hit a record low this year.
The April 2026 Missouri Jobs Report has seasonally adjusted unemployment at 3.8%, down slightly from March and the same time last year.
That's compared to the national unemployment rate of 4.3%.
Missouri saw job growth across business services, private education and health services, trades and finance but lost jobs in leisure and hospitality last month, the state found.
Still, leisure and hospitality saw job growth over the past year, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center report. Kansas City-based EPR properties bought Six Flags St. Louis this year and six other Six Flags parks in hopes of attracting investment in new rides and attractions.
But Chicago-based business coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas predicts leisure and entertainment will contract significantly this year due to increasing economic strain.
Its report states rising inflation, oil prices and an already cautious hiring landscape mean consumers will likely rein in spending this summer.
That means they will be spending less on entertainment and leisure, which account for a huge share of teen summer jobs.
"The collapse in entertainment and leisure hiring announcements is one of the clearest signals we have for the summer," CEO Andy Challenger said in his firm's report. "Theme parks, resorts, hotels, and event operators are signaling they'll run leaner this year. That is exactly the kind of work teens depend on."
Teen summer hiring hit a 77-year low in 2025. The firm attributes the drop to an increased economic squeeze caused by inflation — a factor it argues has only gotten worse this year.
The Challenger report predicts long-term hiring contractions as entry-level jobs available to teens become increasingly automated. It also states that teen labor force participation has nearly halved in the past 40 years as high school students opt to spend their summers doing college prep and other extracurriculars.
"This isn't the teen workforce of the 1980s," Challenger said. "Today's 16-to-19-year-olds are balancing AP coursework, caretaking for their families, club sports that run year-round, summer enrichment programs, paid internships, and online side hustles."
Copyright 2026 St. Louis Public Radio
