Supermarket chain Maxima provided the most summer jobs, hiring over 500 young people for the season. Prisma, Selver and COOP supermarkets hired more than 200 each, while filling station chain Circle K and Rimi supermarkets employed over 100 young people each over the summer.

Other retail chains, ranging from apparel to hardware stores, offered dozens of summer jobs each.

According to Estonian Traders Association (EKL) CEO Nele Peil, retail also provided many young people with their first job experience.

The young seasonal employees worked primarily in stocking, but also in customer service and other positions.

Peil noted that the seasonal workers help alleviate businesses' workloads, as summer is prime holiday time for many stores' permanent employees.

"On the other hand, we need to take into account that insofar as all new employees are provided with thorough training, this accounts for a substantial part of summer workers' period of employment," she explained. "This means a little bit of extra work on the part of permanent employees, at least initially. At the same time, many young people return next summer, and in that case they have already completed their training."

Nearly one tenth of young people to work summer jobs in retail end up continuing to work, many of them part-time and on the side while in school.