Gen Z Feels Stuck: Jobs, Homes, and Hope

Kira Saiti is nineteen and in her second year of college. She scrolls her phone and sees pictures of fighting and hurt, both far away and near her home. She says it’s hard to think the world is great when you keep seeing that stuff.

Julian Bautista is twenty and studying environmental work. He says cuts made by the Trump administration have crushed job chances in that field. Because of that, he plans to leave the US after graduation and look for work in the Netherlands. He calls the current state of his home country a failure of democracy, blaming corrupt leaders.

Many of their friends feel the same way about money and growing up. Praveen Amunugama, twenty‑one and studying biochemistry, jokes about wanting a house someday but admits he really hopes to afford one later. He says his pals just want to be able to buy things and raise a good family. The job market looks rough: unemployment for people aged twenty‑two to twenty‑seven sits at 7.2 %, while the overall rate is 4.1 %. Recent college graduates face a 5.6 % jobless rate, which is higher than most periods except the Great Recession. At the same time, house prices, food costs and medical bills have climbed sharply.

All this worry is pushing students toward candidates who promise big change. In Michigan, a group of young backers supports progressive Democrats like Abdul El‑Sayed, a former public‑health official running for Senate, and Will Lawrence, an activist trying to unseat Republican congressman Tom Barrett. A 2024 study noted that Generation Z could end up richer than millennials, yet experts like Kevin Corinth from the American Enterprise Institute warn that the old road‑to‑success is no longer clear. Kathryn Edwards, an economist based in Texas, adds that high living costs combined with shaky job prospects make things pretty tough for young adults.

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