Recent college graduates are having a harder time finding work, despite their higher education degrees, which usually give job-seekers a leg up in the labor market.
That’s according to a new report from Oxford Economics which shows that unemployed recent college grads account for 12% of an 85% rise in the national unemployment rate since mid-2023. That’s a high number, given that this cohort only makes up 5% of the total labor force.
What’s more, the rate of unemployment among workers who have recently graduated from college and are between the ages of 22 and 27, is nearing 6% —which is above the national unemployment rate of 4.2%.
I’ve watched this occur over the last 20 years. We’ve slowly automated away lots of work (or simply disposed of that work) that juniors would do which allowed juniors to grow into seniors. I’ve watched in horror as the ladder has been pulled up behind me knowing that others can’t take the path I did to success. Lots of things we used to fix, we simply dispose of, and a disposal worker needs much less skill and critical thinking to perform their job.
Its very difficult to mentor juniors now because I can’t see a path for most to advance.