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Jul 8, 2025 - Recent College Grads Face Tough Job Market

• Recent college graduates are having a difficult time finding a job and are seeing the highest level of unemployment in more than a decade (excluding the pandemic), according to an analysis of Federal Reserve data. Recent graduates with a bachelor’s degree had a 6.1% unemployment rate for the 12 months ending in May 2025, compared to the national rate of 4.2%. Those workers account for only 5% of the total workforce, but they play a larger role in pushing the national unemployment rate higher. As a result, graduates who find an entry-level position tend to stay in that job longer to avoid being stuck in a bad market. According to Oxford Economics, this is especially true among those in professional, scientific, and technical services, who often do not change industries when switching jobs. The data underscores a trend of Gen Z looking more towards trade schools than college.
• The US unemployment rate hovered around a low 4% for most of 2024, but that still translates to roughly 7 million Americans out of work - and 1.6 million of those have been unemployed for more than six months, according to data from the US Department of Labor. The number of workers out of a job that long has risen by 50% in the last two years. Another four million workers are underemployed - those working in part-time or temporary jobs as they continue to look for a full-time position. Other unwelcome job market stats include an average of one job posting per unemployed worker, down from two in 2022, and wage growth that shrank from 6% to 4% year-over-year in November 2024. Healthcare and hospitality industries are still experiencing strong hiring, while office jobs in technology, media, and legal services have been hit with layoffs as employers cut costs.

• Return-to-office mandates continue to increase as employers increasingly sour on employees working from home. A KPMG survey from 2024 found that among 400 US CEOs, about 80% thought employees would be back in the office full time by the end of 2027. Big employers that have recently mandated a return to full time in-office work include Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, WPP, and AT&T. Employees, though, after finding more work-life balance during and after the pandemic, still favor remote or hybrid work in some form. The issue has become a heated push and pull between employers who want more in-person collaboration, and employees who have grown accustomed to the flexibility remote work provides. Per LinkedIn, 1 in 10 workers want to change jobs over the issue. Industries where remote/hybrid job listings increased last year included non-profits, insurance, finance, and technology, according to ZipRecruiter.
• As hiring has slowed, more white-collar workers want to change jobs, according to The Wall Street Journal. A November Gallup survey of 20,000 workers showed that more than half said they were watching out for or were actively seeking a new job, marking the highest level of white-collar job seeking since 2015. However, unlike the so-called Great Resignation of 2021 and 2022, when millions found new jobs with better pay, hiring and wage growth have slowed. According to Gallup, workers are increasingly dissatisfied amid smaller raises, fewer opportunities for advancement, added responsibilities, and increased office attendance requirements. While job dissatisfaction seems to have risen, fewer workers are quitting. In September 2024, about three million people quit their jobs, compared to about 2.5 million who did so the same month a year earlier.