Most of the labor market is standing still. LinkedIn CEO Dan Shapero described it this fall as frozen in place. Younger workers are the exception. A new Robert Half report found the share of younger workers planning a job move before year-end jumped more than 20 percentage points from this time last year.
My read: many early-career employees leave to learn. When a role stops teaching them something new, the next job looks like the fastest way to grow. For employers: a strong first few months get someone settled. The bigger risk often comes later, once the work turns routine and the next step is not visible. Make it visible. Offer a stretch project, a skills plan, or a real conversation about internal moves before they start looking outside. If your internal application process is harder than applying externally, fix that first.
For Gen Z: leaving at month eight has a cost. You give up the story of what you finished, and a run of short stays without results is harder to explain in an interview. Before you move, ask your manager directly what growth could look like where you are. You may get a better answer than you expect. If not, you will leave knowing exactly what to look for next.