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Report: Gen Z pessimistic about work and life success, survey suggests

Goodwill 'Closing the Opportunity Gap' report, drawn from McKinsey data, suggests many in Gen Z aged 18-24 doubt they'll ever own a home or retire
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Gen Z young adults are growing more pessimistic about their future prospects at work and in life, and many fear they lack the skills for today’s entry-level job market, suggests a report from Goodwill Industries International, based upon McKinsey survey results.

The report, Closing the Opportunity Gap, suggests a need to upskill and reskill young people and others entering the workforce, such as justice-impacted individuals.

“Tackling the opportunity divide is more vital than ever as technology, an aging population, climate change and artificial intelligence reshape the employment picture,” the report says.

Relative unemployment shares by age.
(Source: Goodwill Industries International)

The report draws insights from the latest McKinsey American Opportunity Survey of almost 10,000 Americans of various ages. Subjects were interviewed in August 2024 and in some cases the results were matched against a similar survey taken in 2022.

The share of those in the 18-24 age group who report being unemployed (excluding those attending college) is 2.5 times higher than the general population’s share, according to survey results.

Such Gen Z adults are growing more doubtful about ever being able to retire (31% in 2024 vs. 25% in 2022) or own a home (70% believe they will never own one, vs. 60% in 2022), according to the report. And 45% are concerned about job stability and feel less financially secure.

‘Lack of Skills, Credentials, and Experience’

Young adults aged 18-24 most often cited a lack of experience or credentials as barriers to getting a job, followed by not knowing where to look for one.

Barriers to youth employment.
(Source: Goodwill Industries International)

“The biggest roadblock for today’s youth in landing good jobs isn’t a lack of ambition—it’s the lack of skills, credentials, and experience needed to make them appealing to employers,” says Steve Preston, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International, in a news release.

“To give people a fair shot at the American Dream, there is a critical need to provide skills training and career navigation, especially to young people who will help shape and power the future workforce,” he adds.

Goodwill is the largest nonprofit provider of job training and career placement services in North America, and WorkingNation has highlighted its programs.

To read more of the report, including what it says about the employment struggles of justice-impacted individuals, click here.

Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.