Gen Z and millennial workers have gained a reputation for quickly moving between jobs, but new research shows that the latest generation to enter the workforce is essentially no different than earlier generations at the same age. 

Research from the National Institute on Retirement Security found that workers ages 25 to 34 had a median tenure of 2.7 years, only slightly lower than the same job tenure baby boomers had at the same age in 1983. Over the last 42 years, the median job tenure for workers in that age group has remained largely the same. 

That shows that while Gen Z workers tend to switch jobs more than older workers, it’s not at rates greater than what older workers themselves saw historically.  

"These findings should put to rest the myth that millennials and Gen Z inherently are job hoppers," said Dan Doonan, NIRS executive director, in a statement. "Younger workers have always changed jobs more often than older workers as they find their career path. That was true for baby boomers, Gen X, and it remains true today.” 


Retention rates are mostly influenced by factors beyond generational differences, such as the strength of the job market and overall market conditions. For younger workers in general, they will switch jobs more often as they look for the job or career that is right for them. 

A separate report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that older baby boomers held an average of 12.7 jobs over their careers, but nearly half of those jobs were held when they were ages 18 to 24. 


"The real drivers of turnover are the economy, benefits and job opportunities, not generational differences," Doonan said. "This is a critical point for policymakers and employers to consider as they design retirement and benefit programs and policies for the workforce of the future." 

NIRS's report comes at a time when the so-called “gig” economy of on-demand work through ride-share companies and others platforms has in recent years become a widespread phenomena. The report states that while there is a perception of younger people quitting their jobs for gig work, a vast majority are simply working additional hours while keeping their regular job. 

There is, however, one group that has seen its median job tenure shrink over the decades. That’s workers ages 55 to 64. In 1983, that age group had a median job tenure of just over 12 years. By 2024, that had fallen to below 10 years. Workers ages 45 to 54 saw median job tenure drop from just below 10 years to about seven years, according to the report.  

“This could be due to several possible factors, including the decline of private-sector pension plans that provide strong financial incentives to stay in place until retirement, a decline in the percentage of Americans working in manufacturing (where retention has been consistently strong), or the fact that there are simply more opportunities in today’s dynamic economy to find a new job,” the report stated. 

Gen Z has accumulated a number of negative portrayals as they have entered the workforce. According to a survey of thousands of workers by career website Monster, 54% of non-Gen Z workers say the generation is lazy, with another 40% saying they are selfish. Thirty percent of older workers said they would rather get a root canal than work with Gen Z colleagues, and 27% would rather work with an ex. 


Financial advice guru Dave Ramsey called them “just awful,” while many hiring managers have confessed to ignoring them.  

Despite a narrative that has proliferated online that Gen Z hates work — or at least hates their job — a survey of Gen Z workers by ResumeBuilder found 64% like or love their job, and about half say they like their boss. 

Some experts believe Gen Z is facing a jobs crisis spurred by the advancement of artificial intelligence. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei sparked debate when he said earlier this year that AI will wipe out half of all entry-level jobs and drive unemployment up to 10% to 20% in the next five years.  

He said entry-level work in industries such as finance, consulting and tech will first be augmented by AI only to then be completely replaced by it. That could mean up to half of all entry-level jobs would vanish. 

A separate study of jobs over the past 18 months by Revelio Labs, in partnership with Bloomberg, found while AI does not fully explain the decline observed in entry-level job demand, it does account for some of it. When the study controlled for industry and time trends, it found a 10% increase in AI exposure in a job is associated with an 11% drop in demand for entry-level roles — while accounting for a 7% increase in non-entry level roles.  

Entry-level jobs highly exposed to AI — meaning many of the tasks associated with that job can be done by AI tools — have fallen by more than 40%, while jobs with low exposure to AI have dropped by 33%. 

 

 

 