Amazon Isnt as Hip as Microsoft Among the Nations Youngest Job Seekers

A study just released by Glassdoor, one of the largest online job and recruiting sites, sheds some light on the cities, employers and jobs that are attracting Americas newest class of workers, the so-called Gen Z and millennial generations, and it appears Seattle-based Amazon is losing ground on that front to Microsoft when it comes to the younger Gen Z job applicants.

The study, which is focused primarily on emerging Gen Z job applicants, is based on a sample of job applications started on Glassdoor between Oct. 1, 2018, and Jan. 11, 2019. It examined the cities, occupations and employers that are popular among younger job applicants. Millennials are defined as individuals born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 23-39 as of 2019) while Gen Z includes individuals born between 1997 and 2012, with the Glassdoor study focused on the subgroup of Gen Zers born between 1997 and 2000 (ages 18-22 as of this year).

The study found that by far the tech-industry occupations were the most popular among Gen Z job applicants, with software-engineer jobs (median salary $98,500) and software-developer jobs (median salary $86,000) being the most sought-after occupations by Gen Z job applicants, representing 21 percent of all job applications analyzed. A similar comparison for millennial job applicants was not compiled.

Gen Zers are aspiring to work in tech, the Glassdoor study states. The majority of job applications from Gen Zers were for companies in the tech industry, followed by business services, finance and retail.

In two other areas, however, Gen Zers and millennials are compared side by side: top employers and top metros. A divergence between the two generations is shown on the employer front, with the top employers attracting Gen Zers, in descending order, being IBM, Microsoft, Google and Amazon. For millennials, Amazon ranks first, followed by IBM, Oracle, Google and Apple with Microsoft ranking sixth on the list.

Interestingly, a ranking of the 10 highest-rated companies favored by Gen Z job employees does not even include Amazon. Seattle-area companies making that list, starting with the highest-rated, are the following: Microsoft (at No. 3); Costco Wholesale (at No. 8); and Nordstrom (at No. 10). Apple and Google ranked first and second, with Morgan Stanley and Facebook trailing Microsoft in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

In terms of the top metros that are attracting Gen Z and millennials job seekers, Seattle is tied for eighth with six other cities among Gen Zers with the other cities in Seattles weight class being Philadelphia, Dallas, San Diego, Houston and San Jose, California. Ranking above Seattle for Gen Z job applicants, in descending order, are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.

Among millennial job seekers, Seattle as a destination city is tied for ninth, along with Atlanta and Houston. Ahead of Seattle are the same cities outpacing it among Gen Zers, minus Atlanta, and with the addition of San Jose, at No. 5; and Dallas, at No. 8.

As members of Gen Z continue to join the working population in the next decade, well likely see employers continue to adapt to attract these new job seekers, the Glassdoor study concludes. Gen Z members, at this early stage in their careers, have already recognized Apple, Google, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley and Facebook as the five highest rated employers to work for.