The members of Generation Z are changing the nature of the employment marketplace and the workforce, just as the Millennial Generation did.
At the moment, there are more Millennials in the employment marketplace than any other generation. However, Gen Zers are catching up quickly. In fact, the members of Generation Z will comprise 27% of the workforce by the year 2025, and believe it or not, that’s essentially only two years from now.
This signifies more than just the beginning of the “changing of the guard” or the “passing of the torch” between generations. It symbolizes a shift that is more significant, and the reason lies in the personality and the professional priorities and preferences of Generation Z.
Because those priorities and preferences will largely dictate Animal Health and Veterinary hiring for the foreseeable future.
‘Job hopping’ and Animal Health and Veterinary hiring
I have written on multiple occasions about the fact that there is less of a stigma attached to “job hopping” than there used to be. Part of this trend is due to current conditions in the job market. There is a shortage of qualified candidates in many industries, including within the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. As a result, employers are not in the habit of dismissing a quality candidate just because they have a history of changing jobs frequently.
However, this trend is also due to the proclivities of Generation Z. According to data released by LinkedIn earlier this year, the members of Generation Z are switching jobs at a rate 134% higher than in 2019. You read that correctly: the number is 134% higher, which means more than twice as frequently as they were just a couple of years before. And Gen Zers were already changing jobs rather frequently in 2019.
According to the LinkedIn data, Millennials are also changing jobs more frequently, although “only” at the rate of 24% more. The data also showed that Gen Zers are showing no signs of slowing down, as 25% of those surveyed indicated they planned to leave their current employer within the next six months. (Approximately 23% of Millennials indicated they planned to do the same.)
So not only are the members of Generation Z switching jobs at an increasingly astronomical rate, but so are Millennials, although their rate of increase does not match Gen Zers. But it is abundantly clear that the members of Generation Z are the driving force behind the dropping of the “job hopping” stigma, and it appears as though it’s a trend that is not going to reverse itself anytime soon.
So, what does this mean in terms of the future of Animal Health and Veterinary hiring?
What the future holds in terms of hiring
The members of Generation Z will continue to become a bigger part of the workforce and job market. Remember, the Baby Boomers are still continuing to retire, and in a little more than a decade, the members of Generation X will start to retire, as well. That leaves Millennials and Gen Zers. (And whichever generation follows Generation Z, the members of which might change jobs just as frequently as Gen Z and perhaps even more frequently . . . if such a thing is possible.)
All of this, of course, impacts Animal Health and Veterinary hiring, and in fact, it might impact it more than the rest of the employment marketplace. This is especially the case within the Veterinary profession. This is illustrated by the difference between the National Unemployment Rate and the unemployment rate in the profession.
In October, the National Unemployment Rate was 3.7%, which was close to a historic low. According to the job search site Zippia, since 2013, the unemployment rate in the Veterinary profession has decreased from 1.0% to 0.2%. So, while there is a shortage of candidates within the broader employment marketplace, that shortage is even more pronounced within the Veterinary profession. Not only that, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is also predicting that veterinarian jobs will grow by 19% between 2021 and 2031.
With everything that we have discussed to this point, this is how the future of Animal Health and Veterinary hiring will likely look:
- There will be a continued shortage of high-quality candidates, especially in terms of the top 5% to 10% of the candidates in the job market.
- Because of this ongoing shortage, it will be increasingly difficult to identify, engage, and hire job candidates to fill open positions.
- The members of Generation Z—and to a lesser extent, the members of the Millennial Generation—will continue to change jobs more frequently.
- Successfully retaining employees, especially your best employees, will continue to be challenging and it might become even more challenging.
- It will require more of everything (salary, benefits, flexibility, perks, etc.) to both successfully hire candidates and also retain them for the long haul . . . whatever the definition of “the long haul” is between now and 2031.
As you can see, all of these trends and developments are converging to create market conditions that favor job seekers and candidates and do not favor the organizations that are attempting to hire them. Because of this, Animal Health and Veterinary hiring in the future may very well require more time, energy, and effort than it does right now. And considering the current conditions that exist in the job market, you might be wondering how that is even possible.
The VET Recruiter and your Veterinary hiring needs
This is why aligning yourself with an experienced and reputable recruiting firm that has a track record for recruiting the types of candidates that your organization needs is a wise and strategic move. The VET Recruiter has been helping employers just like yours find, recruit, and hire the top candidates in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession for more than 25 years, and we can help your organization, too.
You can click here to find out more about our services for employers. Click here to learn more about our recruiting process.
We help support careers in one of two ways: 1. By helping Animal Health and Veterinary professionals to find the right opportunity when the time is right, and 2. By helping to recruit top talent for the critical needs of Animal Health and Veterinary organizations. If this is something that you would like to explore further, please send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.