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Recent College Grads Now Have a Higher Jobless Rate Than All Workers

Fresh analyses point to a cooling job market that is pushing employers to favor experience over newly minted degrees.

Students make their way across the University of North Florida campus, Monday, May 16, 2022, in Jacksonville, Fla.
Stats Show that Employment Prospects Look Bleak for Graduates this Year
Recent grads are struggling.

Overview

  • Bank of America Institute reports recent-graduate unemployment has overtaken the overall rate, with over 13% of the unemployed in July classified as first-time job seekers, the highest share since 1988 and skewing toward Gen Z.
  • New York Fed data show recent grads averaged about 5.3% unemployment in Q2 2025, compared with roughly 4% for the broader labor force.
  • St. Louis Fed analysis finds unemployment among college graduates ages 23–27 averaging 4.59% in 2025, up from 3.25% for the same cohort in 2019.
  • Experts point to employers’ shifts toward skills-based hiring and early AI-driven automation, along with broader economic uncertainty and some government hiring freezes, as key pressures on entry-level opportunities.
  • Broader cooling signs include more consumers saying jobs are “hard to get” rising to 18.9% in July and BLS reporting August payrolls up by 22,000 with the unemployment rate edging up to 4.3%.