Gen Z College Grads Hitting The Job Market at the Worst Time – ryan

It ‘grad season, and gen z job seekers are Feeling Desperate.

Zomers Are Staring Down a Tough Hiring Market: Economic Uncertainty Has Contributed to Employees ‘Waiting to Quit and Companies’ Hesitancy to Hire. Artificial Intelligence is Disruption the Entry-Level Rung of the Career Ladder in Industries Like Tech. Recent Graduats have tore told business insider that they’re frustrated by nosreds of rejection Applications and being ghosted by prospective Employers. Some Settling for Wondever Work They Can Find.

It ‘Long been typical for 20-somethings to have a higher uniemployment rate than the General Population, and the Overall US UNEMPLOYMENT IS STILL RELATIVELY LOW. One Relatively New Development, Howver, is that you are Young People with College Degrees Are Being Hit Hard by the Economic Slowdown-Especilly If they’re Hoping to Land A Role in Traditionally White-Collar Fields. Many genus zers are LoSing Faith in the Roy of Higher Education and Are Toward Blue-Collar Opportunities.

The Following Five Charts Illustrate the Tough Job Market for Recent Graduate.

More People are graduating with a bachelor’s degree than in the past

AS THE COST OF HIGHER EDUCATION HAS RISEN, MORE PEOPLE ARE AREING A BACHELOR’S Degree at US SCHOOLS, WHICH MEANS MORE QUALIFIED COMPETITION FOR THE AVAILABLE Jobs. The National Center for Education Statistics Showed there were almost 2 million Bachelor’s Degrees Confersred in the 2022-2023 Academic Year, up from 1.8 million Ago Ago.

“We are used to thinking About College as Being a Meal Ticket to Economic Opportunity,” Said Guy Berger, The Workforce Economist in Residence and Senior Fellow at the Burning Glass Institute. Still, he added that has Having a Degree Could Bring Less of a Premium in the Job Market Because there are more College Graduat said in the past.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATES HAVE SPIKED FOR RECENT GRANDS

The UNEmployment Rate for Recent College Graduates Ages 27 to 27 Has Soard Compared to UNEMPLOYMENT FOR ALL WORKERS AGES 16 TO 65 IN RECENT YEARS. This is a new trend: Young People with Degrees Has historical almost always been more likes to be employed than the rest of the Labor Force.

The UNEMPLOYMENT RATE GAP BETWEEN The Total Workforce and Recent Grams was historically wide this spring, meaning that the nonb market for 20-somethings with the worst has seen in at the least four decades. Those Who Studied Anthropology, Physics, or Computer Engineering Had the Highest UNEMPLOYEnt Rates In 2023, for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Analysis of Census Bureau Data.

Quit Rates have fallen – and so have jab openings

The pool of jobs available for gene z – and the workforce as a whole – to applia for ha shrunk. Job openings have cooled from 12 million in march 2022 to 7 million this past april. In what’s been dubbed the Big Stay, Current Employees Are Holding on to their Seats as Well, With the Monthly Quit Rate Falling 3% in March 2022 to 2% This Past April.

Cory stahle, an economicist at the indeed hiring lab, Said College and High School Graduates Are Entering A Job Market Where People are Holding onto their Jobs and Companies Aren’t Cutting Roses or Hiring New Employees.

“The Labor Market is Frozen, these areats are not necessarily opening up for these workshops, and that is disproportionately impacting these workers,” Stahle Said.

Small and Midsize Businesses Aren’t Hiring As Mary Recent Grads

GustoA Payroll and Benefits Platform for Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses, Found the Rate of Primarily White-Cooles Ageed 20 to 24 at Small and Midsize Employers Has Fallen From Pre-Pandemic Levels, Declining from 9.4% in May 2019 to 2.7% This past March.

Still, Aaron Terrazas, An Economist at Gusto, Said There are US CITIES WHERE NEW GRAND HIRING LOOKS STRONG, INCLUDING IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA AND SILICON VALELY. Plus, he Said Wage Growth is Accelerating for Graduates.

“We all come out of school with Grand Ambitions and Thinking Our plan is set,” terrazas said. “Being Open to UNEXPECTED OPPORTUNITIES IS Particularly important in an economy like the present.”

More grads are touring to jobs that typically don’t require a College Degree

If New Graduates Have a Job, They May Be Working in A Role That Dosn’t Typically Require a College Degree. While this figure Fluctuates over time, the share of 20-somethings who had jobs they overeducated for is rising in 2025. It coincides with the generation’s pivot skilled-trades as electricians or plumbers.

MANY Young People Are Seeing These Opportunities as a safer bet Compared to a corplate World by Layoff Waves and Hiring Freezes. Construction Laborers, Electricians, and Truck Drivers are Project to Grow Faster than the Avent Job-Growth Rate of 4% From 2023 to 2033, for the burheau of Labor Statistics.

Are you a gen zer open to sharing your Job Search Experience? Reach out to these reporters at [email protected] and [email protected].