Even as the U.S. economy adds jobs and the unemployment rate ticks lower, there are fewer hiring opportunities for college graduates. And yet, high school students remain remarkably optimistic about their future employment prospects.
According to a new report by Junior Achievement, 73% of teenagers said the artificial Intelligence boom will have a mostly positive effect — or no impact at all — on their ability to get a good job that pays well. Junior Achievement surveyed more than 1,000 teens between the ages of 13 and 18 in January.
Of those polled, 68% said they plan to attend college, in line with recent years.
“It’s awesome to see that today’s teens are optimistic about the future,” said Jack Harris, Junior Achievement’s CEO. “In the face of AI, some form of post-secondary education is going to be very necessary,” he said. “We just have to be sure we are preparing students in the right way so that optimism doesn’t fall flat.”
Recent data does show that the labor market is doing well. The U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The overall unemployment rate edged down to 4.3% — but for younger workers, ages 16 to 24, it’s a different story. Among this cohort, the unemployment rate was 9.4% in January.
