Gen Z founders are hiring while Boomers’ corporate America freezes out—‘I’ve already proven to myself that I can thrive in this’
Source: Fortune ·
While entry-level job seekers face a ‘low-hire, low-fire’ market, young entrepreneurs are betting big: 46% plan to add staff, compared with just 19% of boomer owners.
From the source
A low-hire, low-fire labor market has made breaking into the workforce brutally hard for Gen Z. But while most young people are struggling to land their first opportunity, some have jumped the line by building their own small businesses and startups—and young founders are now ramping up hiring even as companies across industries slow theirs. New data from the Q3 2026 Small Business Index, produced by Justworks and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, shows that 46% of Gen Z and millennial business owners plan to increase staff in the next year, compared with just 19% of owners in the baby boomer generation or older. According to Justworks CEO Mike Seckler, young owners are generally more confident about investing in their businesses, even in an economy where most companies have played it safe. “Young entrepreneurs, like Gen Z and millennial entrepreneurs, are much more bullish about how their businesses look, and they’re more confident hiring right now than folks from older generations,”…