#graduate-unemployment

#graduate-unemployment

One in three graduates who are out of work and claiming benefits say poor health is preventing them from finding employment, as new analysis highlights mounting concern over the value of some university degrees and the UK's approach to skills training. Research by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) shows that 707,000 graduates are now claiming benefits, a 46 per cent increase since 2019.

Despite mounting public skepticism about the value of a college degree, the data is still clear: Over all, college graduates have much higher earning potential than their peers without a bachelor's degree. But the limits of those boosted earnings are often decided by a student's major. American workers with a four-year degree ages 25 to 54 earn a median annual salary of $81,000-70 percent more than their peers with a high school diploma alone.

Today's college graduates are facing one of the most hostile job markets in recent memory, especially when it comes to entry-level roles. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a 9.3% unemployment rate for bachelor's degree holders aged 20 to 24 in August 2025, almost double the average unemployment rate for all workers. In the U.S., entry-level hiring is down 23% compared to March 2020, which is more than the 18% decline in overall hiring, according to research from LinkedIn.

Entry-level roles are drying up because of AI automation and budget cuts. This is particularly true for marketing, where AI's capacity to do grunt work has organizations considering eliminating entry-level positions. However, doing that puts the future talent pipeline at risk.