Gen Z’s Summer of Hard Graft: Employment Hero Data Challenges the ‘Work-Shy’ Stereotype

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Employment Hero, the AI-powered employment platform, has today released its latest monthly platform data.

Could trade jobs be the new summer jobs for Gen Z? Recent stories have tracked the decline of traditional retail and hospitality jobs, and suggested that AI is pushing younger workers away from traditional office jobs and towards harder-to-automate work.

Now, Employment Hero’s latest SME payroll data shows that Gen Z employment in construction rose 11.3% between May and August, almost three times the 3.9% growth recorded in retail and hospitality. This is not a short-term summer blip, but part of a sustained trend as Employment Hero has recorded positive quarter-on-quarter growth in construction in every period analysed since the start of 2026.

Nor is the growth limited to temporary or project-based work: construction ranked second among all sectors for full-time headcount growth in August, behind manufacturing.

Kevin Fitzgerald, MD UK, Employment Hero:

“The traditional summer job has long been associated with shops, restaurants and hotels. But as those sectors face rising employment costs and fewer entry-level opportunities, young people are increasingly finding work elsewhere.

The strongest gains for Gen Z were concentrated in trade industries, with a standout 11.3% rise in construction hiring over the three months to August, around three times the growth recorded in hospitality and retail.

This is not simply a short-term summer trend. Construction also ranked second among all sectors for full-time headcount growth in August, suggesting that it is creating more sustained opportunities for younger workers.

At a time when AI is making some routine office roles feel less secure, hands-on work offers young people the chance to build practical skills and experience that develop over time. The challenge for employers is to turn that initial opportunity into clear routes through training, progression and long-term careers.”

The Monthly Employment Hero Jobs Report is powered by payroll data directly drawn from the Employment Hero platform. The August sample includes:

• 4,804 businesses
• 166,291 employees

About Employment Hero
Employment Hero is a global, AI-powered employment platform transforming the way businesses hire, manage, and pay their teams. Its intelligent Employment Operating System (eOS) uses HeroAI to automate HR, payroll, recruitment, and employee engagement, delivering real-time insights, predictive recommendations, and compliance safeguards. Serving over 350,000 businesses and 2.5 million employees worldwide, Employment Hero leverages AI-driven automation to reduce administrative overhead by up to 80%, creating smarter, faster, and more compliant workplaces. For further information, please visit https://employmenthero.com/uk/.