Why College Grads Can't Find Jobs

Why college grads can’t get a job
1. The market got tougher
• The unemployment rate for recent grads (ages 23-27 with a bachelor’s) rose from ~3.25% in 2019 to ~4.59% in 2025.
• One source put the recent-grad unemployment rate at 5.8% in early 2025.
• Meanwhile, job postings targeting grads reportedly dropped 15% in a year.
Bottom line: The playing field is more crowded. More grads + fewer entry-level openings = tougher competition.

2. Skills mismatch & degree inflation
• Many jobs are shifting toward skills over credentials; employers increasingly care more about “what you can do” rather than “what degree you have.”
• The concept of “credential inflation” means that a bachelor’s used to signal a lot. Now, many jobs require it, reducing its differentiating power.
• For many majors, grads are ending up under-employed, working jobs that don’t require their degree.
Action: What skill set will make me hire-ready, not just degree complete?

3. Entry experience gap
• Employers often expect some work/internship experience, yet many new grads haven’t had substantial internships or relevant experience.
• With fewer internships being posted, the path to “first relevant job” is harder.
Action: Emphasize internship, project, volunteer, part-time experience BEFORE graduation. Make “experience” more than just “degree.”

4. Technology, automation & hiring process changes
• Some entry-level tasks are increasingly automated or shifted to fewer hires.
• The job-ad space includes “ghost jobs” – postings where firms may not intend to fill, which distorts the real opportunity set.
Action: Teach grads to diversify their search, make connections (not just apply blindly), and highlight uniquely human value (not replaceable by an algorithm).

5. Over‐supply of graduates in certain fields / economic headwinds
• A burst of grads in some majors means more people chasing similar roles. (Fields such as Computer Science/software development are showing signs of oversupply. One source says CS grads face one of the worst markets in decades due to oversupply, AI, and layoffs.
• Economic uncertainty makes companies scale back entry-level hiring first.
Action: Selecting majors and focus areas aligned with personal interest & demand (don’t just pick what’s popular).

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