Why Gen Z Can’t Find Jobs: The Career Crisis Explained

Gen Z, the generation born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, is facing one of the toughest job markets in decades. Despite being told that higher education and digital skills would open doors, millions are finding those doors firmly closed or simply illusions. Here’s a deep dive into what’s driving this unprecedented crisis.

Entry-Level Jobs Are Vanishing

Once, starting a career meant replying to job ads or handing in a resume. Now, Gen Z faces a maze of obstacles. According to recent reports, 75% of employers say they’re struggling to fill vacancies, and yet responses to applications are rare. In a 2022 study, only 12% of more than 300 job applications submitted by interns received any kind of reply, and not one led to a hire—even though these candidates matched job requirements. Strangely, the more qualified the applicant, the more likely employers were to “ghost” them.

A central problem is the rise of “ghost jobs”—fake or inactive listings companies post without any intention to hire. Surveys show that 81% of recruiters admit their organization has posted such listings, some reporting that half their openings are not real. The reasons vary: keeping up the appearance of growth, building databases to sell, scaring employees into higher productivity, or simply making teams believe help is coming. It’s a widespread, institutionalized deception.

Data Exploitation and Global Job Market Manipulation

The issue is international. In Japan, job search giant Rukunabi was caught selling predictive data about candidates directly to employers, affecting entire career paths. Rukunabi’s parent company also owns major platforms such as Indeed and Glassdoor, linking data manipulation from Tokyo to New York. These practices have become normalized; in 2024, online job listings were only half as likely to result in a hire as in 2020.

Ghost postings are now so common that the U.S. Library of Congress officially recognized them as a modern job market threat. Yet, while some state lawmakers have proposed reforms, no federal legislation addresses this systemic problem or the economic forces undermining careers for half a century.

Experience Required—But How to Get It?

Entry-level positions are supposed to be entry points, but that’s no longer true. Surveys show that 94% of employers now require previous experience for these roles (even in tech), and nearly 40% of entry-level listings on platforms like LinkedIn demand 3–5 years of experience1. That leaves internships—often unpaid—as the only path in. But competition is fierce: some firms receive tens of thousands of applications for a handful of internships, and nearly half of all internships are unpaid, locking out anyone lacking financial resources.

Paid interns are much more likely to get job offers, deepening a class divide where only those who can afford to work for free get a real chance to advance.

The Global Reality

It isn’t just an American problem. In Canada, Gen Z unemployment is over 12%—double that of older workers. In China, it’s nearly 16%, with young people dubbed “rat people” to mock their prospects. Meanwhile, AI and automation threaten to wipe out half of all entry-level jobs as soon as five years from now, potentially displacing 45 million U.S. workers by 2030. Yet, corporate investment in job training has collapsed, leaving young workers to sink or swim on their own.

Wages Lag, Costs Soar

For Gen Z, even those who find work must contend with stagnating pay and skyrocketing costs. Since 1970, the U.S. dollar has lost roughly 85% of its value. Wages rose just 29% while productivity jumped 80%. Gen Z carries more personal debt than any previous cohort, with major expenses like rent, health insurance, and car insurance far outstripping any modest gains in income.

Almost half of full-time American workers now make less than what the minimum wage would be if it had kept up with productivity, further exacerbating economic insecurity and resentment.

What Next? A Call for Real Change

Standard advice—network harder, polish your resume, send thank-you notes—rings hollow when the entire system is stacked against newcomers. The root of Gen Z’s crisis is institutional: fake job postings, predatory data practices, impossible standards for “entry-level” roles, collapsing wages, and an economic model that rewards automation over human job creation.

If there is hope, it lies in solidarity, transparency, and honest conversation. Policy must catch up with reality to ensure genuine opportunity: enforce real job listing standards, invest in job training, address the misuse of worker and applicant data, and reimagine economic rewards to support—not punish—each new generation.

Gen Z’s struggle isn’t due to individual failings; it’s the product of a broken, manipulated system. Facing this openly is the first step to creating a better future.