Gen Z is right: It is facing a big problem no previous generation encountered
Gen Z graduates are encountering problems finding post-college employment that many in previous generations did not experience.
As Campus Reform previously reported, artificial intelligence is seen as a driving factor behind this difficulty.
A recent study confirms that Gen Z college graduates are entering one of the toughest job markets in recent history, with 58% still unemployed after earning their degrees. Students attribute much of the difficulty to the proliferation of artificial intelligence.
The findings, published by résumé platform Kickresume, highlight a stark generational divide. Just 25% of graduates from previous generations said they were unemployed after leaving college. And while nearly 40% of past graduates secured jobs before finishing school, only 12% of Gen Z students did the same.
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Despite this reality, Gen Z graduates reported higher confidence levels about entering the workforce. Forty-one percent said they felt fully ready for the transition, compared to 30% of earlier grads.
The study suggests that the decline in entry-level opportunities, driven in part by AI and inflated hiring standards, has raised barriers to employment. Sixty-five percent of Gen Z grads cited lack of experience as their top obstacle, up from 44% of older respondents.
In interviews with Campus Reform, college students expressed similar concerns about the negative impact AI is having on those seeking their first professional jobs.
”I think that actually if you look at unemployment rates ... it’s pretty bad right now,” one student said. “And then I feel like looking at AI and stuff, it takes a lot of those like intro jobs, getting your foot in the door. It may be a little bit harder now than maybe it was like 20 years ago.”
Students cited other troubling factors, such as the difficulty of entering an industry without connections and the general health of the economy.
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Job-search tactics have also changed for Gen Z. LinkedIn has overtaken traditional job boards as the top platform for recent grads, with 57% using it to job hunt—up from 29% among earlier graduates. The use of social media for job hunting also jumped from 7% to 26%.
Résumés remain the most challenging part of the application process. Over a third of Gen Z respondents named it their top struggle, a concern shared by 27% of older grads.