Younger workers are driving job growth in the construction and trade industries, as Generation Z turns to manual labor amid rising youth unemployment and the looming threat of artificial intelligence (AI), new data suggests.
Data from human resources platform Employment Hero showed that hiring of Gen Z workers significantly outpaced other generations last month.
Employment for the age group – including those born between 1997 and 2012 – increased 16.8% in January, compared to the same month last year.
By comparison, employment for Generation Y grew 5.5%, Generation X 6.7% and Baby Boomers 7.1% year over year in January, according to the data.
Employment Hero analyzed payroll data from more than 500 construction and trade businesses in the UK using its platform, representing around 13,000 employees.
It also found that wages in the sector grew 9.6% year-on-year in January, based on a three-month moving average.
The company said its analysis points to a broader generational shift in career preferences, with many younger workers attracted to business roles that offer immediate earnings opportunities and the potential for salary growth.
It also comes as many companies say they are increasingly leaning toward using artificial intelligence and automation to reduce costs and make their work more efficient, raising fears about worker displacement and future job stability.
Official figures on Tuesday showed youth unemployment is at its worst level in more than a decade.
The unemployment rate among 16- to 24-year-olds rose to 16.1% in the three months to December, the highest level since early 2015.
Companies in sectors such as retail and hospitality, which typically attract younger workers, have been particularly hard hit by rising labor costs, which experts say is having a knock-on impact on hiring.
Kevin Fitzgerald, UK managing director of Jobs Hero, said: “With Gen Z employment increasing three times faster than other cohorts, it is a clear sign that they are leading the revival of the blue-collar workforce.
“It is clear from recent announcements that the Government sees vocational training and apprenticeships as playing a huge role in tackling the challenge of youth unemployment in the UK and our figures show the sector is playing its part in moving towards that mission.”
The Government has committed to investing £725 million to create 50,000 apprenticeships in an effort to tackle rising youth unemployment.
