Becoming NEET (not in employment, education, or training) is one of the most popular career options for Generation Z right now.
According to the International Labour Organization, around one-fifth of people aged 15 to 24 worldwide will be NEET in 2023.
In Spain alone, more than half a million 15-24 year-olds are neither studying nor working. Meanwhile, in the UK, almost 3 million Gen Zers are now considered economically inactive, with 384,000 young people joining the ‘unemployed’ class since the COVID pandemic.
While some Gen Zers are avoiding the nine-to-five grind to protect their wellbeing or because adult life milestones like buying a house seem so far away they’re better off not even trying, a significant proportion of young NEETs are well-qualified and want to work, but simply can’t find a job – and perhaps never will.
At least that’s the case according to a recent report from Korn Ferry, which warns of a “perfect storm” of AI and recession resilience, coupled with talent hoarding, that is driving the new wave of “unemployment.”
‘Wait and see’ strategy is the cause of youth unemployment
During the pandemic, companies paused their hiring activities in preparation for a recession that never really arrived.
According to the report, “some jobs were consolidated, while others disappeared altogether.” For newcomers to the labor market, this meant there were fewer jobs to apply for, and that won’t change anytime soon.
Although inflation is slowing, the report highlights that bosses are holding off on reintroducing downsized roles as they wait to see what impact AI will have on workloads.
“They’re hesitant to commit to full-time roles,” explains Adam Prager, co-leader of Korn Ferry’s North American professional services practice, adding that employers expect AI to make their workers more efficient.
Companies are currently clinging to the talent they have and expecting to make do with less, rather than hiring new employees who they may later have to lay off.
“Part of this is because many companies still remember the layoffs caused by the pandemic and are concerned about further damage to their brand,” the report said.
Finding a job is not a piece of cake for Generation Z
Generation Z students know how tough the job market is right now. Those who manage to get a foot in the door on the job market have to resort to extremely unusual methods.
After hearing from more than 100 job applications that didn’t appeal to her, Ayala Ossowski used the 20 hours a week she was already working at a suburban Washington pizza parlor to try to get poached by Washington’s elite.
“The market is so saturated with incredible talent that it takes some creativity to stand out from the crowd,” she said. Fortune.
The Gen Z graduate wore a baseball cap with her university’s logo on the front to every shift and started giving an elevator pitch every time a customer asked.
After posing as a pizza delivery person for a month, Ossowski got her first internship and now works at Cisco.
Also born in Egypt, Basant Shenouda graduated from the University of Bonn, one of Germany’s top universities, in 2019. She spent six months applying for jobs in recruiters’ DMs and online.
When Shenouda realized that traditional methods of finding work were not enough, she said Fortune, She used LinkedIn to see what conferences recruiters were posting about and then signed up to work at those events, armed with a stack of resumes she could show off during her break.
It worked: she got an internship at LinkedIn, where she still works three years later.
Meanwhile, Lohanny Santos, a 26-year-old dual-degree seeker from Brooklyn, went viral after she took to TikTok to cry about going door-to-door with her resume at several local cafes, but no one would hire her.
And the spontaneous video paid off: Within days of posting it, Santos’s follower count had tripled and all sorts of brand partnership opportunities came her way.
Afterwards she said Fortune: “I feel like it’s just beginning for me.”
Are you a young graduate who can’t find a job or a recruiter who is constantly turning away Gen Z candidates? Fortune wants to hear your story. Get in touch: Orianna.Royle@fortune.com
This story originally appeared on Fortune.com
