Boston Launches Record 6,000 Summer Youth Jobs, a Thousand More Than Last Year

BOSTON — July 19, 2026 — Boston's SuccessLink summer youth jobs program hits a record 6,000 openings for 2022. Mayor Michelle Wu made the announcement at a press conference at the Hyde Square Task Force's Blessed Sacrament campus in Jamaica Plain, saying the program will offer 1,000 more slots than last summer across sectors including arts, healthcare, government, and STEM. Celina Miranda, executive director of Hyde Square Task Force, said her organization will serve 80 young people this summer through its Jovenes en Accion arts and leadership program, made possible by city support. Rashad Cope, director of the Department of Youth Engagement and Employment, credited a network of intermediaries — including ABCD Summer Works, John Hancock MLK Scholars, Youth Options Unlimited, and the Private Industry Council — with doing "the real work" of designing youth job experiences. Neil Sullivan of the Private Industry Council warned that expanded job numbers alone won't drive participation: "This has been a rough time to be a teenager," he said, calling on adult supervisors to recruit reluctant youth back into in-person settings after two years of pandemic disruption. The application deadline is May 29 at youth.boston.gov.