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New college graduates this year are facing the bleakest hiring landscape since the pandemic. Demand for degree-bearing roles has stalled just as a wave of young workers enters the market, according to a recent report from The New York Times<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Employers have become more cautious about hiring, automating more tasks and favoring experienced candidates over entry-level hires, according to the Times. The result is higher unemployment and intense competition for a shrinking pool of suitable jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n An analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York<\/a> found that the unemployment rate for recent college graduates ages 22 to 27 with a bachelor\u2019s degree rose to around 5.6% by late 2025, the highest in three years and notably worse than the overall rate of 4.2%.\u00a0<\/p>\n More than 40% of employed recent graduates are in roles that do not require a bachelor\u2019s degree, the highest share since 2020, per the Federal Reserve Bank. Even when new graduates find work, many are not using the skills or credentials they just paid for.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe appetite for hiring is definitely decreasing,\u201d Alli Goossens, the assistant director of employer engagement at North Dakota State University, told the Times. She noticed that fewer employers attended the university\u2019s recent career fair. Some employers informed her that they were pulling back on hiring.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just reduced hiring numbers,\u201d she told the Times. \u201cThey just weren\u2019t hiring quite as many.\u201d<\/p>\n Young graduates are facing tougher job prospects \u2014 and that\u2019s fueling larger questions about whether AI is obliterating the very careers they\u2019ve been working toward.<\/p>\n Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, a $380 billion<\/a> AI company, predicted<\/a> last year that AI could wipe out half of entry-level, white-collar positions by 2030. A separate report from SignalFire, a venture capital firm that analyzes the movements of 650 million employees on LinkedIn, indicated that new graduates comprised just 7% of new hires in 2024, down 25% from 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n AI might be cutting into a few entry-level roles here and there, but there\u2019s not much proof it\u2019s the main reason new grads are struggling to land jobs \u2014 at least not yet. Many economists say the bigger issue is the \u201clow hire, low fire\u201d dynamic shaping today\u2019s job market, per the Times. Employers are hiring fewer employees and keeping the ones they do have. <\/p>\n According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis<\/a>, job openings have been slipping and are now lower than they were before the pandemic, even as layoffs have remained rare. The result? Many employers have hit pause on hiring \u2014 and that slowdown is making it tough for anyone trying to break into the job market.<\/p>\n More than half of employers<\/a> surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers rate their hiring outlook for the Class of 2026 as \u201cpoor\u201d or \u201cfair,\u201d marking the most pessimistic outlook since 2020. The survey showed that full-time job postings dropped 16% year-over-year in August, while applications per job simultaneously spiked by 26%, intensifying competition for each opening.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just a general slowdown in hiring and less churn,\u201d Adam Ozimek, chief economist at nonpartisan think tank Economic Innovation Group, told the Times. \u201cAnd so those who need their first jobs are probably disproportionately affected.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n New college graduates this year are facing the bleakest hiring landscape since the pandemic. Demand for degree-bearing roles has stalled just as a wave of young workers enters the market, according to a recent report from The New York Times<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Employers have become more cautious about hiring, automating more tasks and favoring experienced candidates over entry-level hires, according to the Times. The result is higher unemployment and intense competition for a shrinking pool of suitable jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\nIs AI the culprit?<\/h2>\n
Employers are scaling back entry-level hiring<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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