Gen-Z’s Employment Anxiety is Not Just Valid – It’s Necessary
“The Job Market is cooked.”
It’s a common sentiment felt by Gen-Z folks searching for employment across the United States. Just search up “Gen-Z Job Market” on TikTok, and you’ll find hundreds of young people expressing their disdain towards the lack of opportunity available to them. Stories about applying to over one hundred positions on LinkedIn, frustrated rants about entry-level jobs that require 2-3 years of experience, and mental breakdowns about paying for basic living necessities are all too familiar to young people in America. It seems that the only thing “cooking” in the minds of Gen-Z is a state of perpetual anxiety about their future financial prospects.
So, how did we get here?
Gen Z is no stranger to the harsh effects of a country’s economic downturn. Most of Gen-Z were children during the Great Recession in 2008, when unemployment peaked at a rate of 10.6% in January 2010. After the job market began to slowly heal, the COVID-19 pandemic once again halted economic growth for the first young Gen-Z Professionals graduating from college. Unemployment rose to a rate of 13% from February to May of 2020, resulting in over 14 million people losing their jobs in a span of 3 months. Job opportunities appeared to fare better towards the end of 2022, with the unemployment rate dropping to around 3%; however, inflation continued to surge in 2023 and 2024, later exacerbated by Trump’s rollout of tariffs for America’s global imports in 2025.
Job insecurity isn’t just something that younger generations have experienced when trying to enter the workforce. It’s something that’s continued to occupy the way Gen-Z views the economy, particularly highlighting a lack of stability in political or global turmoil.
On social media platforms, jokes about “recession indicators” amidst people’s financial struggles flood people’s feeds. Thrift stores have the same prices as Urban Outfitters, there’s a surge of spaghetti purchases, and Michael Buble is supposedly performing in May. Gen-Z satirized these occurrences, though all clear signs of economic downturn in the United States. Job openings are down by 37%, with businesses practicing a “low hiring, low firing” strategy in the midst of a destabilizing economy and a massive hike in prices. Furthermore, the rise of AI has seemingly replaced many of the same entry-level positions young early career professionals often take, making it nearly impossible for recent graduates to gather any sort of field experience (that even offers any pay at all). The lack of paid opportunities available to Gen-Z has forced them to move back home to deal with the inflated cost of living, take unpaid internships, and apply to graduate school in an effort to deter the effects of a struggling job market. The culmination of these issues presents a familiar sentiment to young people everywhere–one that reflects the same fears we grew up with.
“Any life plan that’s been paved and planned beforehand–it doesn’t work anymore.”
While job insecurity is not a fear exclusive to Gen-Z, the vocalization of our woes is one way we differ from our predecessors. Generation X saw a rise in different job opportunities amidst the “dot.com boom” before the 2008 recession, resulting in more gratitude towards the United States economy. And while Generation Y( or Millennials) were the first to experience the effects of the recession, many already had the work experience needed for hiring, even amongst a small pool of employers. Blunt examples of Gen Z’s frustration towards an economy we had no part in creating are plastered all over social media; from “polyworking” to moving back home, there is no lack of work ethic for young people searching for opportunities. Amidst an inability to enact immediate and direct change for economic betterment, speaking out has become a coping mechanism for young professionals desperate to break into the job market.
While economic shifts appear cyclical for multiple generations in the United States, Gen-Z has decided to break the narrative and fervently express the need for a shift in hiring practices. With 27% of today’s workforce consisting of young professionals, Gen-Z has the right to demand better wages, job flexibility, and career growth opportunities, in order to create an environment that allows for financial freedom and stability. As a result, work-life balance and corporate responsibility campaigns are on the rise; when young people are given jobs, they encourage innovation within companies that help deal with a constantly evolving economy. Instability, in whichever form, should not be the established norm for the United States.
Gen-Z has some very real concerns about the current job market – it’s not easy out there. Employers and policy-makers have a responsibility to listen to the younger generations’ experiences surrounding America’s job market. Young professionals aren’t just future workers–they are future consumers, voters, and citizens who are vocal and eager for change.