Unemployment among recent graduates has climbed to 5.8% as AI and automation reduce the availability of entry-level positions. Employers increasingly seek candidates with prior experience and AI proficiency, pushing many into lower-skilled roles. To succeed, job seekers must focus on Applicant Tracking System / ATS-friendly resumes, quantifiable achievements, and developing strong AI skills.
For the Class of 2025, the excitement of graduation is quickly giving way to a sobering reality: Landing that first job is harder than ever.
Unemployment among recent college graduates (ages 22 to 27) has surged to 5.8%—the highest rate in years. Entire categories of entry-level roles in finance, consulting, and tech are vanishing, replaced by AI-driven agents and automation tools.
At my company, we’re witnessing a shift: More graduates are accepting jobs that don’t even require a degree. While this may offer short-term relief, it leaves major questions about long-term career growth and financial stability unanswered.
To truly understand the root of this problem—and how to solve it—we need to examine how AI is reshaping what it means to start a career.
The Disappearing Gateway to Entry-Level Work
Entry-level jobs were once a stepping stone—an opportunity to gain experience and prove yourself. Today, many of those roles have either been automated or now demand far more than before: years of experience, industry certifications, and fluency with specialized software. As a result, recent graduates are competing against candidates who already bring real-world skills and credentials to the table.
In a recent survey, we found that even highly qualified professionals are settling for low-skilled jobs. One seasoned customer success expert applied to nearly 1,000 positions over eight months and still ended up accepting a data-entry role. Another, a former project manager, took over a year to land a part-time data annotation job.
These aren’t outliers. Increasingly, experienced professionals are being forced into roles that fall well below their qualifications—just to stay employed.
The situation is even tougher for junior workers seeking remote jobs. Of the 2.29 million+ entry-level listings on LinkedIn in the U.S., only around 155,000 offer remote or hybrid options—less than 7%. On our own platform, about 40% of remote positions are entry-level, and nearly a third of those already require AI proficiency.
Today, basic AI skills are fast becoming a baseline expectation across industries. Employers want candidates who understand prompt engineering using tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Midjourney, along with strong AI literacy—the ability to recognize biases, limitations, and potential inaccuracies in AI outputs.
Depending on the field, deeper AI expertise may also be required:
Marketers use Jasper for content and Canva Magic Studio for design.
Sales teams automate workflows with Outreach.
Software engineers rely on AI copilots like GitHub Copilot, Gemini Code Assist, Amazon Q, Cursor, or Augment to accelerate development.
Data analysts turn to tools like ChatGPT Advanced Data Analysis, Tableau with Einstein AI, and MonkeyLearn.
UI/UX designers use Uizard, Figma AI, and Khroma.
Product managers integrate AI into planning with Notion AI, Miro AI, and Airtable AI.
In short, the path to employment has changed. Entry-level jobs haven’t just vanished—they’ve evolved. And adapting to this new landscape means learning the AI tools that are reshaping the modern workplace.