Philly Gen Zers don't want to leave. They just don't see a future here

The big picture: Philly has historically struggled to retain young workers as they enter their 30s.

• And now higher rents, lower homeownership rates and earnings that haven't kept pace with inflation are making it even harder for Gen Zers to stay in Philadelphia without sacrificing the lifestyles they want.
• In turn, the city's already graying workforce is only getting older — a big problem in Pennsylvania.
• Contrary to stereotypes about Gen Z, it's not for lack of trying.

Driving the news: Philly faces a growing challenge: how to keep younger, educated and career-focused "taxpaying residents" who say the city has plenty of jobs in "eds and meds" but too few in fields like tech, finance and the arts.

• One woman summed up the imbalance: "I should have gone to med school after all. I would've had some really good opportunities here."

By the numbers: About 20% of 18- to 29-year-old workers were employed in health care and social assistance in 2024, while education was the next-largest employer at about 14%, per the report.

• Meanwhile, median earnings for people in that age group were lower than in cities like Boston, Washington and New York, a gap that has grown since 2005.

How it works: Last fall, Pew conducted 90-minute focus groups with 54 Philadelphians ages 18-29.

• Participants, most of whom were women, discussed everything from the state of the city's workforce to remote work.
• Most participants had or were working toward a bachelor's degree and were employed in some capacity.

Zoom in: Local Gen Zers know exactly what they're looking for in a career, and it's not much different from what other generations want.

• They prioritize competitive pay and benefits, work-life balance and opportunities to move up.
• Slightly less important? Paid time off, a sense of purpose and supportive managers who could help them grow in their jobs — findings generally consistent in national surveys of Gen Zers, per the report.

Between the lines: Gen Z had especially sharp views about boundaries between work and the rest of their lives.

• Several wanted flexibility to juggle personal responsibilities during the workday as long as they got their work done.

What they're saying: Work-life balance isn't "about reticence to work hard," Thomas Ginsberg, report author and senior officer for The Pew Charitable Trusts, tells Axios.

• Rather, younger workers expect their jobs to leave room for "some personal fulfillment, and to some degree, some of them feel like jobs today don't afford that."
• "Gen Z has lived through two economic shocks in this country, and record levels of college debt, of inflation, a lot of things in the economy."

Reality check: Some participants said they'd learned from experience that being a workplace "superstar" and prioritizing work above everything else didn't necessarily translate into better pay or perks.

• "I don't live to work. I work to live. So there needs to be that distinction between the two," said a man in his 20s working in data analytics.

The bottom line: As one participating engineer put it, younger workers can't afford to be "loyal to companies" — and employers shouldn't mistake salary negotiations for "being greedy."

• "We just straight up need it because the cost of houses has risen by crazy percentages. … Everything is just insane nowadays."