Why Gen Z May Have the Worst Job Market in History

/// THIS WEEK

Earners,

This week, we’re discussing the bleak reality of the job market in 2025 and how Gen Z is managing it all.

But Gen Z isn’t the first generation to face a brutal job market. I dug through decades of data to figure out which generation actually had it worst at the starting line. The answer surprised me.

[ INSIGHT ]

Every generation loves to claim they had it hardest. The truth is more nuanced. Boomers entered the economy with robust productivity. Gen X weathered recessions but still found pathways. Millennials crashed into the Great Recession at the worst possible moment. Gen Z is caught in a squeeze that keeps tightening.

/// DATA*

Boomers (1970s):

• College tuition: ~$400/year ($3-4K today)

• Home price to income ratio: 3.5-4x

• Manufacturing jobs: 25% of total employment

• Wage growth: Tracked with productivity

Gen X (1980s-90s):

• 1982 unemployment: 10.8% (youth 17%+)

• College tuition increased by 120% in the 1980s

• Manufacturing jobs dropped to 16% (36% decline in share)

• Dot-com crash: $1 trillion in market value lost

Millennials (2000s-2010s):

• 2009 youth unemployment: 17%+ (underemployment 40%+)

• Average student debt: $20K+ (triple Gen X)

• Home price to income ratio: Peak of 6.8x

• Entry-level wages: Flat since the 1980s despite 60% productivity growth

Gen Z (2020s):

• Entry-level job postings: Down 30%

• "Entry-level" roles requiring 3+ years of experience: 38%

• Home price to income ratio: 7-10x

• Job seekers reporting unrealistic requirements: 70%

*Years in brackets represent when each generation was entering the labour market.

[ BREAKDOWN ]

Boomers walked into a system designed to catch them. College costs pocket change. Companies trained you on the job. You could buy a house on a single income within a few years. Even when stagflation and recessions hit in the mid-70s and early 80s, most Boomers had already secured their foundation: home purchased, career established, benefits locked in. The timing mattered more than the turbulence.

Gen X got squeezed first. The 1982 recession hit hard, with youth unemployment exceeding 17%. Manufacturing jobs vanished, which meant millions of stable entry points were gone. College costs doubled, then doubled again. But housing was still reachable, and once the 90s tech boom arrived, doors reopened. Then the dot-com crash wiped out trillions, teaching Gen X that volatility was the new normal.

Millennials faced the sharpest single blow. The Great Recession was a huge collapse. Unemployment for workers remained stable compared to the previous generation, but underemployment rates for recent graduates climbed above 40%. They graduated into a hiring freeze, carrying unprecedented student debt. Wages stagnated. Housing became unaffordable. Studies show graduating during a recession can cut lifetime earnings by 10-15%. But here’s the thing: once the recovery started, it kept going. The 2010s became one of the longest bull runs in history. If you survived the initial crash, prosperity followed.

Gen Z is faced with something different. It’s more of a progressive constriction. Entry-level jobs aren’t disappearing because of a recession; they are being automated, consolidated or upgraded to require experience that new graduates can’t possibly have. It’s a structural breakdown. This new wall demands that you already know how to climb it.

What makes this historically unique is that even during supposed economic stability, entry-level postings keep shrinking. AI absorbs the grunt work that used to train beginners. Companies expect you to arrive fully formed. Housing costs seven to ten times median incomes in major markets. This is the new baseline.

[ TAKEAWAY ]

Gen Z’s story isn’t over.

Yes, the traditional pathway is narrower than any generation before them has faced. But they’re also entering a fundamentally different economy with tools no previous generation had access to.

Remote work means you’re not trapped by geography. Digital learning costs a fraction of traditional education. The internet is functionally a money-making machine. You have pathways like online commerce, freelancing, content creation, and digital entrepreneurship accessible from day one. Fifty million people now earn through the creator economy. Sixty-four million Americans work independently. These are no longer side hustles; they are legitimate wealth-building pathways.

The constraints faced by Gen Z are very real, but they coexist with new forms of mobility. The traditional entry-level ladder may be narrower, but now multiple ladders exist beside it, and each one offers a pathway to stability and advancement that earlier generations never had access to at the start of their careers.

The market is historically challenging, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build something extraordinary.

Earn more,

TCE

[ MONEY TIP OF THE WEEK ]

If traditional entry-level roles are demanding unrealistic experience, build it yourself. Pick one high-demand skill (data analysis, copywriting, social media management), complete a free or low-cost online certification, and immediately start freelancing on different sites. After 3-5 completed projects, you’ll have a portfolio, testimonials, and the experience those job postings demand. You’re now manufacturing your experience.

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