For months, the job market narrative for Gen Z has been grim: Artificial intelligence is replacing entry-level jobs, employers are pulling back on hiring, and recent graduates are facing one of the toughest labor markets in years. While much of this is true, considering overall hiring of recent grads is down 20% from pre-pandemic levels, new data from Indeed shows there could be another side to the hiring outlook for young professionals.

In a survey with YouGov of 1,001 job-seekers and 300 hiring decision-makers, Indeed found that nearly half of employers (45%) say they are actively seeking AI-native talent, meaning individuals who are highly skilled and comfortable with AI tools. Yet just 19% of employees overall feel fluent in AI. When broken down by generation, 35% of Gen Zers consider themselves AI fluent, the most of any generation.

“That is the contradiction here,” says Kyle M.K., senior talent strategy advisor at Indeed. “It’s that you've got individuals saying we need to hold back on hiring entry-level roles while also saying the generation that makes up those entry-level roles are actually sought after talent.”

To address this paradox, M.K. says organizations need to have a larger conversation about what an entry-level role actually is and what they........

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