New data from the Pew Research Center shows that millennials change jobs less often than older generations, with 63.4 percent of 18-to-35-year-olds staying at their current employer for 13 months or more, compared to 59.9 percent reporting the same in 2000.
The percent decrease is not dramatic, but it strays from conventional wisdom surrounding the millennial job-hunt dynamic. Career readiness centers at colleges across the nation push the idea that our age group is flaky in job searches. Forget about your father being a “company man,” things are different now.
But clearly, that is not really the case.
“Millennials, Stop Apologizing for Job-Hopping,” published by Forbes. CNN Money is right on the nose with “The New Normal: 4 job changes before you’re 32.” The New York Times celebrates, “Finally, a Retirement Plan for Job-Hopping Millennials.” Talk about fake news.
But wait — Gallup data from 2016 suggests that millennials are the most likely generation to switch jobs, with six-in-10 of us open to new job opportunities. So which study is correct? Perhaps millennials deserve the job-hoppers reputation and the new Pew research is an outlier?
Nope. Asking which age group job-hops most is the wrong question. As the Chief Economics Writer at FiveThirtyEight puts it, “Enough Already About the Job-Hopping Millennials.”
Of course millennials are the most likely generation to switch jobs – we’re the youngest, and it’s more common for young workers to find new employment regardless of the generation they hail from. But comparing today’s youth to today’s older generations circumvents reality.
Changing jobs is crucial for workers to gain salary advantages. More workers now have college degrees, and that can lead to greater retention as well. Higher educational attainment also means a well developed skill set that may apply in various roles — opening more doors.
Youth Unemployment sits at 14.7 percent, but Trump’s presidency could lower this statistic significantly. Areas where Obama lacked focus – domestic manufacturing, vocational education, workforce development, and unfair trade agreements – have been hairpins of the Trump Era so far. With the 100-day mark nearing, much attention is on the economic outcomes of Trump’s policies, especially for millennials.
Regardless, millennials today are in much the same boat our parents were before us. The workforce may be better educated, but opportunities are scarce. So don’t be afraid to take the best job you are offered, even if it means you might hop around.
