Post-COVID Reality: Grads Can’t Find Jobs

First Job Struggles

Landing your first job after college is always stressful — but for recent graduates, it has been worse.

New college grads have been unemployed at a higher rate than the general population since January 2021, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Hiring Slowdown

Historically, that’s a rare occurrence. For more than two decades starting in 1990, the unemployment rate of recent grads sat below the overall rate. But in June, the unemployment rate for recent graduates was 4.5%, higher than the 3.8% unemployment rate for all workers. And this trend is showing no signs of slowing.

Let’s be clear, an unemployment rate of 4.5% is still comparatively low. But the fact that this rate is higher than for the general population is nonetheless notable.

The U.S. labor market has been through a lot since the start of the pandemic. The past four and a half years have been marked by (in this order) mass unemployment, frenzied hiring, phenomena like the Great Resignation, a labor shortage, and finally a slowing labor market this summer.

In August, the U.S. economy added just 142,000 jobs, much lower than the 12-month average of 202,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And this appears most noticeable for newly graduated workers.

The hiring slowdown has been particularly pronounced in industries that typically require college degrees. Hiring rates for workers in their twenties fell 20% annually in 2023, per ADP data.

Delayed Start

The first few years following graduation can be crucial for young workers to establish a career and start financial habits that can carry them through life, such as beginning to save for retirement (yes, we know it seems early) and building an emergency fund.

This is particularly true as the high cost of living in many cities is forcing many to delay milestones such as getting married, homeownership, or having kids.

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