Job-hopping was once a surefire way of climbing the totem pole to higher salaries and bigger job titles. While the career tactic has since lost its luster as wage gains have flattened, Gen Z are still jumping from role to role early in their careers—but it’s not because they’re disloyal employees.
Gen Z’s average job tenure during the first five years of their careers is just 1.1 years, according to new research from recruitment company Randstad.
In comparison, millennials stuck around in their first jobs for 1.8 years. Meanwhile, Gen Xers and Boomers held onto jobs at the start of their careers for around 3 years before hopping onto the next.
But Gen Z’s brief job tenures are much more complicated than what meets the eye; entry-level job postings have fallen 29% since January 2024, and alongside fewer opportunities, many are feeling underprepared and unsupported in their professional lives.
And it’s not even for the money: job-hopping has lost its compensation edge, as the salary difference between people who stay in their jobs and those who switch has reached the lowest level it’s been in 10 years, according to February data from the Atlanta Fed. Employees who stayed put at their jobs received a 4.6% wage bump in January and February this year, while those who switched gigs only received a marginally higher increase of 4.8%—only a 0.2% difference.
