Gen Z Statistics 2026: AI, Jobs, Money and Social Media
51% of Gen Z use generative AI at least weekly, a share that has barely moved in a year, while anger about AI has risen to 31% and excitement has dropped to 22%. Recent college graduates face a 5.6% unemployment rate and 42% underemployment. Only a quarter of Gen Z want fast promotions, and more than half have delayed a major life decision because of money. The widely quoted “Gen Z will be 27% of the workforce by 2025” traces to an unsourced 2021 chart caption. Here are the Gen Z statistics worth knowing in 2026, each sourced inline with the year noted.
Half of Gen Z uses AI weekly, and more of them are angry about it
51% of Americans ages 14 to 29 use generative AI at least weekly: 22% daily and 29% weekly, essentially unchanged since March 2025, in a Walton Family Foundation, GSV Ventures and Gallup survey of 1,572 young people (Gallup, 2026).
19% of Gen Z say they never use generative AI, 20% every few months and 11% monthly (Gallup, 2026).
31% of Gen Z feel angry about AI, up nine points in a year, while excitement fell 14 points to 22% and hopefulness fell nine points to 18% (Gallup, 2026). Anxiety held steady at 42%.
64% of US teens ages 13 to 17 use AI chatbots, including about three in 10 who use them daily (Pew Research Center, 2025).
Nine in 10 teens use YouTube, one in five almost constantly
About nine in 10 US teens use YouTube, about six in 10 use TikTok and Instagram, and 55% use Snapchat, while only 31% use Facebook, in a Pew survey of 1,458 teens ages 13 to 17 (Pew Research Center, 2025).
Roughly one in five teens say they are on TikTok almost constantly, and about the same share say so of YouTube (Pew Research Center, 2025).
80% of US adults ages 18 to 29 use Instagram, against 50% of all adults (Pew Research Center, 2025).
More platform data is in Instagram statistics, YouTube statistics and social media statistics.
Recent grads: 5.6% unemployed, 42% underemployed
The unemployment rate for recent US college graduates stayed elevated at about 5.6% in the second quarter of 2026, and their underemployment rate edged up to 42% (Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2026). Underemployed means working in a job that does not typically require a degree.
Workers ages 16 to 29 made up 23.6% of the US labor force in 2025, 40.3 million of 170.8 million (Bureau of Labor Statistics, archived, 2026). Gen Z, born 1997 to 2012, was 13 to 28 that year, so by our estimate it made up roughly a fifth of the labor force.
“By 2025, Gen Z will make up about 27% of the workforce” first appeared in a 2021 Visual Capitalist chart republished by the World Economic Forum, which cited OECD unemployment data but no source for the workforce projection (World Economic Forum, archived, 2021). A 2022 WEF article repeated it as “27% of the workforce in OECD countries.” It is a projection, not a measurement, and it was never about the US.
Only 25% of Gen Z want fast promotions
Just 25% of Gen Z prefer fast-paced career progression with rapid promotions, while 44% favor steady progress, in Deloitte’s survey of more than 22,500 Gen Zs and millennials in 44 countries (Deloitte, 2026).
Only 6% of Gen Zs and millennials say reaching a leadership position is their primary career goal (Deloitte, 2026).
55% of Gen Z have delayed a major life decision, such as starting a family, more education or launching a business, because of their finances (Deloitte, 2026).
69% of Gen Z say the availability or cost of housing directly affects their career decisions and where they can work (Deloitte, 2026). Cost of living has been their top concern for five years running.
53% of Gen Z still expect their personal finances to improve in the next year (Deloitte, 2026).
From asking AI questions to having it do the work
Half of Gen Z already opens an AI chat every week, mostly to ask it things. The time sink in a first job or a side business is different: the inbox, the calendar, the follow-ups. Carly is an AI assistant that works in your email and calendar. She drafts your replies, finds meeting times and books them, and chases the follow-ups you would otherwise forget. Carly connects to thousands of apps, so she works across the tools you already use.
For more, see the best AI assistant for students and AI replacing jobs statistics.
FAQ
How many Gen Z use AI? 51% of Americans ages 14 to 29 use generative AI at least weekly, and 22% daily. 19% never use it (Gallup, 2026).
What percentage of the workforce is Gen Z? Workers ages 16 to 29 were 23.6% of the US labor force in 2025 (BLS, 2026). Gen Z, ages 13 to 28 that year, was roughly a fifth by our estimate. The popular “27% by 2025” figure is an unsourced projection for OECD countries.
What social media does Gen Z use most? YouTube. About nine in 10 US teens use it, followed by TikTok and Instagram at about six in 10 and Snapchat at 55% (Pew Research Center, 2025).
What is the unemployment rate for recent college graduates? About 5.6% in the second quarter of 2026, with 42% underemployed (Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2026).
Related: AI Replacing Jobs Statistics · AI in Education Statistics · Social Media Statistics · Remote Work Statistics · Freelancer Statistics
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