Entry‑level hiring tightens
Recent reporting says U.S. college graduates are facing a smaller, tougher entry‑level job market with longer searches and worries that AI is eroding junior roles, a trend that is shrinking openings across sectors. The piece highlights mounting competition for first jobs and suggests that passive applications will be less effective in the current climate. (theguardian.com)
New college graduates are walking into a weaker first-job market, with unemployment for recent college grads rising to 5.7% at the end of 2025. (newyorkfed.org) That 5.7% rate in the fourth quarter of 2025 was up from 5.3% in the third quarter, and the underemployment rate for recent graduates reached 42.5%, the highest since 2020. (newyorkfed.org) Employers are not planning a big hiring rebound for the next class. The National Association of Colleges and Employers said in November 2025 that hiring for the Class of 2026 was projected to rise just 1.6% from the Class of 2025. (naceweb.org) The same employer survey found 45% rated the market for new graduates as only “fair,” and 60% said they expected to keep hiring at last year’s level rather than expand it. (naceweb.org) Recruiters are also pushing more decisions later in the school year. The association said 37% of full-time college recruiting now happens in the spring, compared with a pre-pandemic pattern in which nearly three-quarters was done in the fall. (naceweb.org) That shift leaves graduates competing longer for fewer openings, especially in fields that once absorbed large numbers of juniors. Indeed Hiring Lab said in April 2025 that jobs requiring less than one year of experience were concentrated in in-person sectors even as overall postings stayed strongest in health care-related industries. (hiringlab.org) Artificial intelligence is part of the debate, but the evidence is mixed. BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink said in March 2026 that artificial intelligence could make some entry-level roles obsolete, while Indeed said in July 2025 there was no “smoking gun” proving artificial intelligence caused the broader tech hiring slump. (cnbc.com) (hiringlab.org) Employers are still signaling what they want from the smaller pool they do hire. The National Association of Colleges and Employers said nearly 70% now use skills-based hiring, and it reported that 13.3% of entry-level job posts require artificial intelligence skills. (naceweb.org) That helps explain why internships and other work experience are carrying more weight. The same report said nearly all employers value United States-based internships, more than three-quarters value cooperative education programs, and more than 40% look for on-campus jobs or apprenticeships. (naceweb.org) Outside surveys are picking up the same strain. Cengage Group said in September 2025 that only 30% of 2025 graduates and 41% of 2024 graduates found jobs in their field, while 48% said they felt unprepared to apply for entry-level roles. (cengagegroup.com) The labor market is still producing jobs overall, but recent graduates are not sharing evenly in that demand. For this year’s seniors, the first rung of the ladder is still there, but it is narrower, more crowded, and asking for more proof before it lets people on. (newyorkfed.org) (naceweb.org)
