News: 0177997583

  ARM Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years (deccanherald.com)

(Tuesday June 10, 2025 @11:28AM (msmash) from the closer-look dept.)


The Class of 2025 is encountering the worst entry-level job market in years with unemployment among recent degree-holders aged 22 to 27 [1]reaching 5.8% this spring -- the highest level in approximately four years and well above the national average. According to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data, 85% of the unemployment rate increase since mid-2023 stems from new labor market entrants struggling to find work.

Corporate hiring freezes implemented under threats of President Trump's tariffs, combined with AI replacing traditional entry-level positions, have severely constrained opportunities for new graduates. More than 60% of executives surveyed on LinkedIn indicate that AI will eventually assume tasks currently assigned to entry-level employees, particularly mundane and manual roles.

The impact varies significantly by major, with computer engineering graduates -- once highly sought-after -- now facing a 7.5% unemployment rate, the third-highest among recent graduates. Employment in computer science and mathematical jobs for those under 27 has dropped 8% since 2022, even as it grew 0.8% for older workers.



[1] https://www.deccanherald.com/business/new-grads-join-worst-entry-level-job-market-in-years-3578794



outsourcing (Score:1)

by lecoupdejarnac ( 1742408 )

At least in tech, there's a new wave of outsourcing going on since the R&D tax credits ended a couple years ago, but it doesn't get talked about as much as the "AI stealing jobs" hype machine.

Re: (Score:2)

by gweihir ( 88907 )

Indeed. Also, vote Dumb! and get economic problems.

Re: (Score:1)

by Valgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 )

These people graduating entered school during the Biden administration. Just saying.

Re: (Score:2)

by MachineShedFred ( 621896 )

And the more important event in the discussion: they're leaving school during the Trump administration when he's doing everything he can to fuck up the economy.

Just saying.

Re: (Score:2)

by Austerity Empowers ( 669817 )

Although outsourcing is definitely a thing, a lot of companies are just not hiring, even at the expense of shipping new products. Do not discount enshittification and stagnation. Why build a new thing, when you can put lipstick on the old thing.

Re: (Score:2)

by MachineShedFred ( 621896 )

Also, there's a lot of talent out there due to recent massive layoffs in tech. When hiring, are you going to take a recent grad, or someone who's been doing the work for 5+ years?

This is the long tail of layoffs that happened 6+ months ago.

Re: (Score:2)

by Austerity Empowers ( 669817 )

You cannot die, McLeod. Accept it.

Also Sean Connery.

Re: (Score:2)

by HiThere ( 15173 )

You didn't suggest what solution to apply. (Or, indeed, precisely what you consider the actual problem...there were at least 3 mentioned in the comment chain.)

Lots of jobs (Score:2)

by registrations_suck ( 1075251 )

Seems like everywhere I go, fast food joints and convenience stores are desperate for people and paying $15 plus per hour.

Re: (Score:3)

by ArchieBunker ( 132337 )

That should tell you something about the state of affairs. No one wants to deal with the public for $15 an hour. It's so bad that red states are rolling back child labor laws. [1]https://abcnews.go.com/US/desp... [go.com]

[1] https://abcnews.go.com/US/despite-hazardous-working-conditions-states-rolling-back-child/story?id=107209273

CS discipline is (Score:3)

by hdyoung ( 5182939 )

one of these areas that's susceptible to boom-bust cycles, just by it's nature. Aerospace engineering, law, construction, some areas of finance - they tend to be the same. Areas like mechanical engineering, nursing, medicine, a lot of manufacturing, and some types of service jobs all fall into the "very stable" category.

People in fields susceptible to downturns must plan for a feast/famine environment. 3 years ago, CS grads were being mobbed by 6-figure job offers like a zombie horde attack. Now it's famine time. I'm partly sympathetic and partly not. If you're a starting CS grad, right now it's gonna suuuucckkkkkk, and yeah man that's hard. But, you chose a high-risk high-reward field. The hard times are part of the ecosystem. If you chose it with your eyes open, you knew this was gonna happen. If you were unaware, you made a career choice without doing your due diligence and that tends to create bad outcomes.

Most of the good ones will land jobs anyways. Eventually.

Re: (Score:1)

by The Mighty Buzzard ( 878441 )

All of this is absolutely true. Plus, CS is one of the few fields where you absolutely can just find something you think would sell and start creating a product.

That and I find it very hard to muster any sympathy for people who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to qualify for glorified factory work; just producing code instead of widgets.

Re: (Score:3)

by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 )

One solution is to go to grad school and hope the job market is better in two years when you get your MS.

Experienced Experts (Score:2)

by nightflameauto ( 6607976 )

While we supposedly hand entry level jobs off to AI, and hire outsourced resources to fill mid-tier roles, I keep asking myself the same question: Where are the experienced experts going to come from in a few years? You don't become an experienced expert while sitting on the sidelines waiting for entry level jobs to become available. You become an experienced expert by entering those entry level jobs and slogging in the trenches for a few years, learning not just the job skills, but also the domain expertis

Chickens come home to roost (Score:2)

by SchroedingersCat ( 583063 )

5 years ago, when universities dropped SAT and entry exams requirements, people warned that it would lower the quality of graduates and create employment problems. Looks like they were right.

Consider the following axioms carefully:
"Everything's better when it sits on a Ritz."
and
"Everything's better with Blue Bonnet on it."
What happens if one spreads Blue Bonnet margarine on a Ritz cracker? The
thought is frightening. Is this how God came into being? Try not to
consider the fact that "Things go better with Coke".