Graduating college is considered a major milestone, but many young adults are struggling to find work after earning their
degrees.
According to the New York Federal Reserve, the unemployment rate among recent college graduates ages 22 to 27
reached 5.6% in March. That is about 33% higher than the unemployment rate for all workers nationwide.
Derek Thompson, host of the “Plain English” podcast, said the hiring slowdown for young graduates began around 2022,
the same year ChatGPT was released. However, Thompson said artificial intelligence is not the only factor contributing to
the decline in entry-level hiring.
“What you’ve seen since 2022 is the overall hiring rate in this country [going] down, down, down,” said Thompson.
Recent data from ZipRecruiter found the number of entry-level job openings has declined over the last three years, while
demand for those positions remains high, creating more competition for recent graduates entering the workforce.
Despite the challenges, ZipRecruiter reported more graduates are finding jobs within three months of graduation.
Healthcare currently leads the way in hiring opportunities, followed by engineering, computer science, architecture and
urban planning and finance.
