The July 2025 jobs report shows an abrupt slowdown in the United States labor market. The payroll increased at only an average of 35,000 new positions over the past three months, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%. The figures may appear insignificant, but they represent an actual shift from the improved labor market of 2019 and the rebound from the pandemic.
Younger graduates are hit the worst, with 23–27-year-old unemployment rising from 3.25% in 2019 to 4.59% in 2025—a 1.34 percentage point rise, more than double that of other groups. This suggests that the traditional college degree labor market premium is in decline. White-collar employment is also hit, particularly in fields like computer science and media, where unemployment has climbed steeply. The changing labor market is raising questions about stability, education, and employment.
Ozkan, S., & Sullivan, N. (2025, August 25). Recent college grads bear brunt of labor market shifts. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2025/aug/recent-college-grads-bear-brunt-labor-market-shifts
4 comments:
This is somewhat frightening as a soon to be college grad, I suppose it's time to look into joining a graduate program haha. But it does appear that an undergraduate college degree may become the new "high school diploma" where it is a basic barrier of entry to most entry level jobs, and students need to seek even higher education, such as a Masters or PhD.
This is definitely concerning as a soon-to-be graduate. The advantage of having a degree isn't as strong as it used to be, especially in fields like computer science and media, which are struggling with higher unemployment rates. Will this shift encourage more students to pursue industries that are still experiencing growth, or will it simply intensify competition across the board? Either way, stability after graduation will be less certain than it was for previous generations.
This is kind of scary especially as a college senior. We were promised when we were younger that as long as you go to college and work hard for the next 4 years, there would be a job waiting for you at the end of the finish line. However, it seems now that finish line keeps moving farther and farther now that it is our generations time, to be the new adults.
This is an alarming threat for college students. First hand, I have witnessed friends who have graduated college recently that have struggled to find a job right out of college. I believe the issue is that companies value experience and have more interest in hiring someone who has worked in the industry for multiple years. Rather than, training a graduate that is coming right out of college.
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