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Recent college graduates have faced a tougher job market in recent years, with unemployment rising relative to the broader workforce. In summer 2026, however, there was no major increase in unemployment among 22- to 25-year-olds with bachelor’s degrees who had left school. Their unemployment rate averaged 7.3%, which was higher than in 2022, 2023, and 2025 but lower than the 7.8% recorded in 2024. Unemployment was also only slightly higher in occupations where artificial intelligence can be used extensively, and the difference was not statistically significant. Recent graduates did not lose significant ground compared with older college graduates or similarly aged workers without college degrees. A broader measure that included graduates who wanted jobs but had stopped actively searching reached 10.4%, the highest level in the period studied, although this increase was also not statistically significant. At the same time, other research suggests that graduates in majors highly exposed to AI, especially computer science, have been slower to find their first jobs and may be entering lower-paying industries such as retail and restaurants. Remote work may also be contributing to the difficulty because younger workers can benefit from in-person mentoring, feedback, and informal learning, although remote-friendly jobs are often also more exposed to AI. Overall, the summer of 2026 provides little evidence of a widespread AI-driven unemployment crisis for new college graduates, but the effects may become clearer as AI becomes more deeply integrated into workplaces.
https://anderson-review.ucla.edu/for-new-college-grads-the-ai-jobpocalypse-didnt-arrive