Across North America, thousands of new graduates are discovering that a college degree is no longer a guaranteed ticket to stable employment. While national unemployment rates remain relatively low, the numbers mask a harsh reality for young people trying to enter the workforce for the first time.
In the United States, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates between the ages of 20 and 24 has climbed to 6.6 percent. According to data from the Labor Department, this is the highest level in a decade if you exclude the spike caused by the pandemic shutdowns. For young college graduates between 22 and 27, the unemployment rate averaged 5.8 percent during the first quarter of 2025. Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York pointed out that the gap between jobless rates for young graduates and older workers has not been this wide in 35 years.
Economist Cory Stahle explained, “Businesses are hunkering down, and that creates a challenge for young workers entering the labor market for the first time.” With employers growing cautious, many are hesitant to take a chance on candidates who do not already have a solid work history.
Experience Required for Entry-Level Jobs
Many graduates say one of their biggest obstacles is the growing demand for experience in supposedly entry-level roles. Kirby Child, a recent graduate of Lehigh University, described the frustration of repeatedly seeing job postings that ask for three to five years of experience. “I’ll think, ‘I could be good at this, but I haven’t been given a shot yet,’” she said.
Jack Juliana, who recently earned a finance degree from Fordham University, shared similar feelings. He applied to hundreds of jobs but rarely heard back from employers. “Many prospective employers never responded or sent me rejection notices after a matter of hours,” he said. Tired and discouraged, he decided to take a break by backpacking in Spain before moving back in with his parents in New Jersey. “Right now, I’m pretending employment doesn’t exist,” Juliana admitted.
According to LinkedIn data, entry-level hiring has fallen by 17 percent since April 2019. The slowdown is especially noticeable in industries that once attracted large numbers of recent graduates, such as technology and financial services. Kory Kantenga, LinkedIn’s head of economics for the Americas, explained that while healthcare, construction, and education have added jobs, sectors like tech have cooled off.
Worse in Canada
The problem is severe in Canada. Young Canadians between 15 and 24 are facing the highest youth unemployment rate seen since the 1990s, apart from the pandemic years. Statistics Canada reported that the economic slowdown, high inflation, and a surge in population growth have created a perfect storm.
Sarah Chung, who recently graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in media and communications, summed it up in one word: “It’s bleak.” She said she has not been able to find a job in her field and plans to continue her education instead. “There’s a whole lot of talk about ‘there’s a recession coming.’ I’m not an economist, but I can also see it as well,” Chung said.
Electrical engineering student Thivian Varnacumaaran shared that he has applied to between 400 and 500 jobs since December but has not landed a single offer. “I wouldn’t say I’m pessimistic, but I’m really realistic about the situation,” he said.
The Role of AI and Automation
Some experts believe artificial intelligence and automation are replacing many of the routine tasks that young employees used to handle. But Notre Dame economics professor Kirk Doran cautioned that automation is only part of the problem. He pointed out that unemployment among young graduates has been climbing since before the pandemic. “This disproportionate unemployment for young college graduates actually began before the pandemic. It actually shows up in the data as early as 2018,” Dr. Doran explained.
He also observed that industries most likely to hire young workers now are often lower-wage sectors like food services, retail, and hospitality, rather than professional fields.
Delayed Start Dates and Shrinking Opportunities
Even when young people do receive job offers, there is no guarantee that they will be able to start working right away. Zara Anwar, another Lehigh University graduate, finally landed a position as a data analyst at a tech marketing company after applying to dozens of jobs. But her start date has been postponed multiple times, most recently pushed to August 2025. “I worry for myself. I can only hope my job actually does start in August, but I truly don’t know,” Anwar said.
High school graduates without college degrees are facing even bleaker prospects. In the U.S., young people ages 18 to 19 without any higher education faced an unemployment rate of 14.5 percent over the past year, up from 13.3 percent in the previous 12 months.
In Greenwich, Connecticut, graduating high school senior Graydon Raabe was stunned by how difficult it has been to find a summer job. “My whole life, I figured if I needed a minimum-wage job, I’d apply and get one, and it wouldn’t be this hard,” Raabe said. “But it’s super difficult.”
Economists worry that today’s youth unemployment could have lasting consequences. Research shows that entering the job market during a downturn can lead to “wage scarring,” where workers earn less over their lifetime because they start out in lower-paying or less stable jobs. Miles Corak, an economics professor at the City University of New York, warned that this scarring effect is not simply temporary. “Long-term earnings prospects are dampened for people graduating during the recession,” Corak said.
Tricia Williams, director of research at the Future Skills Centre in Toronto, said that youth unemployment is often an early warning signal of deeper problems in the economy. “It’s kind of an early warning indicator,” she explained.
While some young workers are doing well, many feel like their lives are on hold. Ben Gooch, a mechanical engineering graduate working part-time in a garden center, described the uncertainty that hangs over so many in his generation. “I don’t have a full-time job yet, haven’t started my career,” he said. “I’m kind of waiting for life to start.”
For now, experts advise graduates to look beyond their preferred industries and cities and to build personal connections rather than rely only on online applications. But with hiring slowdowns and automation reducing opportunities, finding that first job may take far longer than it did for previous generations.
