With prices unfortunately increasing over the years, especially since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term earlier this year and his changes to tariffs, Gen Z — now the newest adults in the world — aren’t feeling financially stable enough.
Many Gen Z’ers struggle to have money left over at the end of the month. Rent has increased, technology slowly raises prices, and $20 is the new “$5” when purchasing food at grocery stores, restaurants or special events. Having a job creates positive discipline for everyone, relevant especially as the later ages of Gen Z start to acquire part-time jobs outside of school, but there is one major problem that a lot of people are currently dealing with: Companies are not hiring, even if the position is open.
I have been working as a recreational aide with the City of Sacramento for the past four years. This was my first job I stayed with after having a mini job working as a server at Oakmont of East Sacramento, a retirement home for seniors, as soon as I turned 18. I stayed there for only three months before my current job began accepting applications. As much as I love working my current job, I have unmet wants and needs. Outside of only being able to work a limited number of hours until the yearly reset of my employment date, my job does not schedule me enough to be financially stable while also being a full-time student.
As this summer slowly ended, my hours decreased and I prepared myself to head back to school. I spent a good majority of last month applying for new jobs, some of which had a Zoom interview, leading to all the positions filled by another candidate. This disappointed me a little, until I realized I wasn’t the only one dealing with this. Plenty of people are sharing their stories online of how they also cannot find jobs.
As of August, 7.4 million people in the U.S are unemployed and looking for a job. 1.9 million of the total have been unemployed for a little over six months and the remaining 5.5 million have either been unemployed for less than six months, or finding employment for the first time. Since the pandemic economic shift, inflation has changed the cost of living everywhere, especially for me as I now struggle to freely go out to eat without overspending.
It’s unclear if the unemployment rate will decrease within the next couple months leading into 2026, but only time will tell what happens.
