Challenges to Secure Employment Heighten for Recent Graduates

Despite what has been described as “extraordinary economic upheaval,” the U.S. labor market is holding steady. However, the nation’s overall unemployment rate of 3.9% in May 2025 has heightened challenges for young job seekers to break into the job market. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (BLS) the unemployment rate for new college graduates (mostly ages 21 to 24) was 6.6% over the past 12 months ending in May 2025, which is “about the highest level in a decade —excluding the pandemic unemployment spike — and up from 6.0% for the 12-month period a year earlier.” For high school graduates between the ages of 18 to 19, the unemployment rate is even higher, BLS data indicated an average of 14.5% over the past 12 months, which is up 9% from the 13.3% rate over the prior 12-month period, leading to a reduction in hiring of about 1.5 million year-over-year in the first 4 months of 2025. In comparison, people between the ages of 35-44 that have at least a bachelor’s degree had a significantly lower unemployment rate of 2.2% during the past 12 months, although it represented an increase from the 1.8% in the 12-month period ending May 2024. The gap between the young and older workers that have been in the workforce longer continues to widen. Contributing to challenges facing young job seekers is a general slowdown in hiring; and as employers become more cautious, even those seeking to fill “entry-level roles are asking for three to five years of professional experience. Reported data compiled by LinkedIn revealed that entry-level hiring fell by 17% since April 2019, and although hiring has risen in the healthcare, construction, and education sectors, in sectors such as technology and finance, which have traditionally snapped up many newly graduated college students, hiring has weakened.

Source:    https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/jobs-unemployment-rise-young-people-ce4704d8