Gen Z’s Job Recession Needs Urgent Attention
Young people are right to be upset: The unemployment rate for them has risen rapidly, even as older workers seem relatively insulated.
Photographer: Klaus Vedfelt/Digital Vision via Getty Images
Gen Z is right to have negative feelings about the economy. Not only were its oldest members entering the workforce as the pandemic struck, but those in their early to mid-20s are also now bearing the brunt of a labor market that’s largely been frozen in place for the past two years.
A “low hiring, low firing” job market works reasonably well for older workers, who have been in their roles for some time and are protected by the low-firing dynamic. But the low-hiring environment looks and feels like a recession to those just entering the workforce. What they urgently need is a meaningful pickup in hiring, something that doesn’t appear to be on the immediate horizon.