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For generations, a college degree symbolized stability and economic mobility. But new research suggests that promise is eroding at a historic pace, as young graduates struggle to find jobs that match their education — or any job at all.
A recent analysis from the Burning Glass Institute shows unemployment among recent college graduates, ages 22 to 27, has climbed to its highest level in decades. The traditional advantage of holding a bachelor’s degree over a high school diploma has shrunk to its narrowest gap in 30 years.
The Vanishing Edge of a Degree
The labor market once rewarded higher education with clear financial and career advantages. Today, that edge is rapidly fading. Unemployment among young degree holders has surged, while employers increasingly bypass new graduates for “entry-level” jobs that now demand three or more years of prior experience, according to MyPerfectResume.
Sectors once known for accessible career starts — including tech, business operations, and finance — have seen the steepest increases in joblessness among young graduates.
Underemployment Becomes the Norm
Even those who find work are often settling for positions that don’t require a degree. For the Class of 2023, more than half were underemployed within a year of graduation. The trend is spreading even to traditionally secure fields such as engineering, where over one in four graduates now work below their skill level.
This mismatch can have lasting consequences. Starting out in low-skill or unrelated roles often leads to slower wage growth and fewer advancement opportunities, locking many graduates into a lower career trajectory for years.
Rising Layoffs and Shrinking Stability
Adding to the pressure, layoffs among recent graduates have nearly doubled compared with pre-pandemic levels. In industries heavily influenced by artificial intelligence — such as technology and finance — younger degree holders face higher layoff rates than their more experienced counterparts.
For early-career professionals, losing a first or second job can create long-term setbacks, from résumé gaps to diminished confidence and stalled career progression.
Entry-Level Jobs Are Disappearing
The foundation of the career ladder — entry-level positions — is eroding, especially in high-growth, AI-driven fields. Between 2018 and 2024, the share of entry-level postings dropped dramatically:
- Software development: from 43% to 28%
- Data analysis: from 35% to 22%
- Consulting: from 41% to 26%
While total job postings in these sectors stayed stable or even grew, the decline in junior roles reveals a deeper issue: companies are prioritizing experienced hires over training new talent.
AI Reshapes the First Rung of the Career Ladder
Artificial intelligence is accelerating these changes by automating many of the tasks that once helped young workers learn the ropes — from data entry to report drafting and analysis. As a result, fewer companies are offering the kind of foundational roles that traditionally served as on-the-job classrooms.
Graduates are increasingly expected to arrive in the workforce already proficient in skills that were once developed through early-career experience — a steep expectation that many are unprepared to meet.
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A Long-Term Labor Market Alteration
The challenges facing new graduates appear to be more than a temporary downturn. The number of working-age Americans is projected to stay roughly flat over the next decade, while the population of college-educated adults continues to rise.
By 2034, an estimated 7 to 11 million more graduates could be competing for a limited pool of degree-relevant positions.
Unless employers and educators rethink how workers are trained and transitioned into the job market, underemployment could become the default outcome for college graduates — undermining lifetime earnings, career mobility, and the broader stability of the white-collar workforce.
