Every summer, students and new graduates flood into the labor market, filling the seasonal staff at amusement parks, camps, restaurants, and retail, as well as the permanent staffs of businesses. But this tradition has ground to a halt in the latest recession; gone are the days of summer jobs by the pool. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics youth summer employment analysis released this week, less than half of young people 16 to 24 were working this summer, making 2011 the worst summer for youth employment on record.

Young people of color were hit particularly hard. Less than 35 percent of young African-Americans and just over 42 percent of young Hispanics were employed last month. And with low employment rates come serious consequences. Financially, students who depend on summer work to help pay for their education will be strapped for cash this school year or forced to delay higher education. Young graduates just starting out may find that their student loans come due before they have any income, which means serious money troubles from the start of their working lives. Unemployed young people will also continue to fall behind in on-the-job experience, making an increasingly competitive marketplace even more difficult to navigate.

A few factors have driven employment to record lows. Young people are the most vulnerable during recessions. Since 2008, unemployment has remained very high, and the June influx of young workers to a barren job market makes matters worse. This summer, 18.1 percent of 16 to 24 year olds who were looking for a job couldn’t find one. There are also a large number of young people who are staying out of the workforce altogether.

As the economy recovers, we can hope that next summer will offer better opportunities for young people seeking their first jobs. But this year, as in the last, our generation again bore the brunt of the Recession.