Generation Z on the job market: When the job offer is shrinking

Four-day week, home office – Generation Z has long determined the conditions on the labor market. Now the job offer for entry-level employees is shrinking massively. How brisk can they still appear?

Berlin. Four-day week, flexible working hours, permanent mobile working: until recently, young employees were still able to confidently demand such conditions. Generation Z could virtually choose their employers. “Companies have to fight for young people,” said researcher Ulf Rinne from the Bonn Institute on the Future of Work in 2023 to Handelsblatt. “They can enforce their wishes much better and more often than previous generations.”

And today? The economic crisis hits young professionals with full force. According to a current analysis by the job platform Indeed, job offers for job beginners have fallen by two thirds since their peak in 2022 - and thus significantly more than the overall market.

“Anyone starting their career today only has a third of the jobs to choose from that were available four years ago,” says Indeed economist Virginia Sondergeld.

What does this mean for a generation that was once considered to have enormous market power? What demands do young people make of their working lives today? Do they now have to subordinate their needs to their job? And most importantly: are you ready for it?

Chapter 1: This is how hard-working Gen Z is

Today's youth no longer want to work! Hardly any accusation is as persistent as this one. But is that really the case? No, says Klaus Hurrelmann, one of the most prominent generation researchers in Germany. The distribution is like in any other generation: there are high performers, the big middle - and young people who don't feel like it.

A survey by the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research, which the Handelsblatt reported on, even shows that young people have never been employed as often as they are today. Between 2015 and 2025, the employment rate among 20 to 24 year olds rose by 7.1 percentage points to 76.8 percent. For those aged 25 to 65, the increase over the same period was significantly lower at 3.1 percentage points.

However, what differs between younger and older generations, according to Hurrelmann, is their attitude towards working life. “They question more about the importance of work in their lives,” he says. “And don’t just subordinate everything to your job.”

Chapter 2: These are the requirements that Gen Z places on the job

Many of the younger generation do not want to move away from this completely, even despite the crisis. This is the result of the youth trend study that Hurrelmann publishes with researcher Simon Schnetzer, among others. The ninth edition was published this year, for which more than 2,000 people between the ages of 14 and 29 were surveyed. Every two years, most recently in 2025, the study also contains a generational comparison.

For millennials, a good working atmosphere remains the most important criterion in the job, closely followed by a good work-life balance. However, both aspects lose some of their importance.

Job security comes in third place, although less than half of all 14 to 29 year olds now rate their chances on the job market as good. In 2024 it was still 63 percent. 47 percent cited paid overtime as the most important benefit, closely followed by working from home. On the other hand, further professional training is only important for around one in three Generation Z respondents.

“Young people take their contractually agreed time more seriously than other generations,” says study author Simon Schnetzer. “Companies first have to earn the fact that they do unpaid overtime.” This certainly causes irritation among older people. In the past, says Schnetzer, overtime was simply part of the job and one's private life had to adapt accordingly. “Today the expectation is reversed.”

Chapter 3: This is how Gen Z assesses itself

Nevertheless, Generation Z considers itself to be very capable. In the youth trend study's generational comparison, 81 percent of 19 to 24 year olds said they gave their best at work. Among baby boomers, the proportion was 91 percent. However, more than one in three of the younger generation also feel burned out due to work stress. For those over 50, this figure is only 18 percent.

However, a current analysis by the company “u form Testsysteme”, a provider of online tests and digital recruiting, shows that self-assessment and external perception can differ significantly here. Around 9,500 trainees, dual students and pupils as well as around 2,100 trainers were surveyed.

While the young people see themselves as reliable, determined and often hard-working, their trainers judge them much more critically. According to the evaluation, around 74 percent of trainees, dual students and schoolchildren consider themselves to be extremely reliable. But only 13 percent of trainers see it the same way. Six out of ten young people also say they have a particularly strong determination. But only twelve percent of trainers agree with this.

Chapter 4: This shapes Gen Z

“Many of Generation Z don’t want to reduce their quality of life,” says Hurrelmann, but rather work so much that it enables them to develop well in their careers. However, as soon as their job comes at too much of a detriment to their private life, they draw the line. “Most people have a built-in burnout barrier,” says the generation expert.

This has nothing to do with collective laziness, but rather with the circumstances under which those born between 1995 and 2010 grew up. The economic situation is more confusing, professional careers are more difficult to calculate, wars and the climate crisis create uncertainty. The same applies to digital disruptions such as artificial intelligence. “Young people have experienced how external influences can shake up life plans,” says Hurrelmann. “That shaped her.”

In addition, according to Schnetzer, the old promise of advancement, according to which hard work leads to a good career and later prosperity, is starting to crack. Even high performers who perform well are now encountering problems in the labor market. The youth trend study shows that only very few young people still have trust in the pension system. Only 14 percent still believe that they will be able to live well on their statutory pension in old age. Two thirds, however, think this is completely unrealistic.

This leads to skeptical realism. Many young people ask themselves: What will I get in return for additional services? “If the answer is unsatisfactory, they often just do what was agreed,” says Schnetzer. “And nothing beyond that.”

Chapter 5: Is there a change in thinking?

The big question is: Can Generation Z afford it? The job market now looks anything but rosy for young professionals. According to the Federal Employment Agency, youth unemployment has reached its highest level in ten years at 6.1 percent.

The trend study already shows a certain level of restraint. All aspects that were important for young people to do good work have lost value. A good working atmosphere has lost its importance by around seven percent. A good work-life balance was also slightly less important in the current Gen Z survey than in previous studies.

“Humility is returning,” says Schnetzer. “But not for everyone.” There are still industries and regions in which companies are desperately looking for young talent. “Especially entry-level jobs in knowledge work are declining.” But here too, it is not the case that there is no longer any need for young professionals. Applicants just have to show what they can do because companies can make better selections.

“We are at a turning point,” says generation expert Hurrelmann. In the past ten years, the situation on the labor market has been extremely favorable for young people due to demographic change. “That has changed,” says Hurrelmann. Companies are hiring fewer young professionals. “Also because artificial intelligence can take over many routine activities.”

According to Hurrelmann, Generation Z has to adapt to this. But that doesn't mean that the balance between work and private life is becoming significantly less important. “The young generation is quite adaptable,” says Hurrelmann. “But she also gets the most out of her situation.”