Want a raise? You might have to find a new job

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**Kai Rizdahl** (0:31)
There's jobs today and spending and health care. And hey, want to buy a used EV?
From American Public Media, this is Marketplace.
In Los Angeles, I'm Kai Rizdall. It is Wednesday, today, the fifth day of August. Good as it always is to have you along, everybody. And honestly, all y'all get to decide. Either we are being incredibly consistent, focusing on the labor market as we are this week, or we're slightly obsessed. I personally will own up to either choice because, first of all, jobs are basically the whole economic ballgame. But also because jobs is where the data is at this week. You get the July unemployment report on Friday. I think I've mentioned that a couple of times. Today, though, private payroll processor ADP offered us its data, which said companies added fewer jobs than expected in July, a relatively paltry 44,000. But there was a nugget of good news for job changers. Pay growth for people who switched jobs in July was up 7% over the same month a year ago. Marketplace's Kristen Schwab gets us going.

**Kristin Schwab** (1:54)
By now, the phrase economists use to describe the labor market is quite familiar, low hire, low fire. And the longer that description is true, the more cautious people who have jobs become about looking for new ones. Nick Tremper is an economist at Gusto.

**Nick Tremper** (2:11)
If you're trying to hire somebody, you may be trying to take them from another job.

**Kristin Schwab** (2:17)
Convincing someone to leave their comfy, cozy, low fire position for something new and known is especially tough right now.

**Nick Tremper** (2:25)
And that's going to increase the premium a little bit. They're taking a risk, and so you're going to have to up the pay.

**Kristin Schwab** (2:31)
Now, the ADP report doesn't break down wage increases by industry, but a look at in-demand categories where hiring is growing offers clues. Yelena Shaletyeva, an economist at the Conference Board, says there's a lot of poaching happening in healthcare and AI.

**Yelena Shaletyeva** (2:48)
Employers are still willing to pay a premium for workers. They really want.

**Kristin Schwab** (2:54)
It's why she thinks this wage jump for job changers is a bit isolated, reserved for specific roles in industries and less of an across-market trend.

**Yelena Shaletyeva** (3:03)
I would just be very careful to interpret it as if job market is heating up again.

**Kristin Schwab** (3:11)
But wages for job hoppers can be a predictor of where the overall labor market is heading down the road. Corey Staley is an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab.

**Corey Staley** (3:20)
He's maybe saying, hey, there's some potential either supply constraints or some potential demand picking up coming down the pipeline. It starts with the switchers, it starts with new hires.

**Kristin Schwab** (3:33)
Some day could trickle down into the rest of the job market, including boosting wages for people who stay at the same job. I'm Kristin Schwab for Marketplace.

**Kai Rizdahl** (3:43)
There's been much coverage here and elsewhere about a K-shaped economy. The idea that higher-income people bounced back from the pandemic and started spending money again much more easily and much more quickly than lower-income consumers did.
One generation, though, isn't acting K-shaped really at all. Data this week from Bank of America says the youngest adults among us, Gen Zers, that is, are actually all spending more across all income brackets. And not, by the way, on student loans and car payments. Think travel and jewelry and coffee. Marketplace's Kelly Wells is on that one.

**Kelly Wells** (4:19)
Gen Z came of age during and after COVID. So Matt Britton, who wrote the book Generation AI, says they're comfortable spending more of their income.

**Matt Britton** (4:28)
Because people just stayed at home and bought stuff.

**Kelly Wells** (4:30)
While they sat at home during the pandemic, Gen Z was also scrolling on social media.

**Matt Britton** (4:35)
Looking at everybody else living their highlight wheel, and they think that they need to spend the money now.

**Kelly Wells** (4:40)
On top of that, Gen Zers have adopted what Jason Dorsey calls the YOLO mentality. He leads a research firm called the Center for Generational Kinetics.