Teens surge into Maine’s workforce

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 17, 2022

The number of 14- and 15-year-old teens getting into the workforce is likely to hit a new record this year as employers in the midst of a labor shortage pull out all the stops to fill open jobs. Maine employers applied for nearly 4,800 minor work permits – required to hire teens under 16 – in the first half of the year, shooting past a record-setting 2021 and far outpacing the average yearly permit requests for the previous two decades. Surging interest in teen workers is a sign of how stretched hotels, restaurants, retail and entertainment businesses are to fill open jobs, said Greg Dugal, ofHospitality Maine.