Surprising new data challenges theory that Gen Zers simply ‘don’t want to work’

By now, it’s no secret that both seasoned and entry-level workers alike are facing a tough job market. 

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In addition to posting a glut of fake job postings, it’s apparently becoming the norm for employers to ghost applicants and rescind job offers, leaving them feeling completely demoralized. As an act of desperation, many job seekers are now “spraying and praying,” or blasting out hundreds of applications at once, only to receive automated rejection emails instead.

Despite these doom and gloom narratives, however, new data shows that Gen Z — which is currently sparking fierce debate over whether it’s unprofessional or not to bring iced coffee to job interviews — is performing better than its older counterparts: A new report focusing on data from 2005 to 2008 and 2021 to 2024 said that Gen Z workers earned more money than millennials and were less likely to be unemployed.

According to a September 2026 report from Zety, which gathered data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and focused on millennials who started their careers during the 2005-2008 period and Gen Zers who entered the labor force during the 2021-2024 period, fewer Gen Zers are clocking in compared with their older counterparts: Gen Z’s employment-population ratio averaged 65.8%, while millennials’ average rate measured 67.9%. For full-time Gen Z workers, their median weekly earnings, which were adjusted for inflation, amounted to about $756, or about $82 more than their older cohorts. 

There is a nuance to the findings, though. While Gen Z workers faced lower levels of unemployment during these periods, fewer actually participated in the workforce, meaning they were not working or looking for work. People are only defined as unemployed when actively looking for work. 

Jasmine Escalera, a career expert at Zety with a doctorate in neuropharmacology and the author of the report, was surprised by these results, mainly because they challenge the dominant narrative surrounding Gen Z workers trying to break into the labor force. “I think we do hear often, unfortunately, that Gen Z is struggling. They might be disengaged. They don’t want to work. They can’t find jobs, and they’re having trouble launching their careers,” Escalera told SFGATE on Wednesday. “But the data actually tells a much more complicated story.”

“It’s really a little bit more along the lines of something interesting is happening around getting Gen Z into the workforce because once they’re actually in it, many are doing relatively well, meaning they’re employed and they’re making more than millennials in the same age bracket,” she continued. 

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Overall, it’s still debatable whether Gen Z or millennial cohorts had a stronger start developing their careers during the 2008 recession and post-pandemic recovery periods — but Escalera speculates that younger generations might feel more empowered because they have access to free information on social media that teaches them how to negotiate salaries, advocate for themselves and handle specific workplace conflicts. 

Gen Zers are also rightfully anxious about the artificial intelligence boom and are still trying to figure out ways to shield themselves from unemployment, Escalera continued. “They’re thinking about career shifts. They’re thinking about blue-collar work. They’re thinking about different ways to work that will, in some way, ‘AI-proof’ them. I think that’s a big hurdle and hump that we really want to explore next.” 

Overall, Escalera believes that Gen Z needs more support entering the workforce, especially as negative headlines about economic uncertainty and mass layoffs dominate the news cycle. 

“It’s not that they don’t do well,” she said. “It’s that there’s some barrier to entry, and we need to support them in ensuring that they have that entry point, whatever that entry point is.”