Over the past 15 years, entry-level occupations for college-educated Americans aged 18 to 27 changed notably while some roles remained stable. Millennials entering the workforce around 2010 often took retail and waiter/waitress positions after the Great Recession. By 2019, younger Gen Z and millennial graduates increasingly entered technology fields. In 2023, Gen Z entry-level workers continued to hold tech roles and showed growing presence in healthcare occupations. Occupational shifts among young college graduates mirror larger economic trends and the expansion of certain sectors like healthcare alongside declines in traditional retail employment.
The kids just don't work like they used to - and it might tell us a lot about how the economy is changing. Over the last 15 years, the job market for younger workers has changed dramatically in some aspects - and, in others, remained remarkably static. But the changing roles younger workers have taken mirror some of the biggest shifts in the economy - and, as the entry-level job market faces its own contractions, might show what could come next.
The data shows how larger-scale economic trends shaped the occupations that college-educated younger workers were landing in. For millennials, it was all about retail job and waitressing in the wake of the Great Recession; pre-pandemic Gen Z and millennials gravitated toward tech. Today's Gen Z is still holding onto tech but also opening the door toward the growing fields of the future, like healthcare.
Entry-level job trends for college grads reflect broader economic shifts over the last 15 years. Millennials took retail jobs post-recession; Gen Z leaned toward tech and healthcare. The shifting entry-level job market shows the rise of healthcare and the decline of retail. The kids just don't work like they used to - and it might tell us a lot about how the economy is changing.
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