Last year, new college graduates wanted remote, high-paying jobs that aligned with their values. This year, they want a job.
With 89% worrying AI could replace entry-level roles – up from 64% last year – 67% of graduates would now accept a lower-paying position if it offered more job security, Monster’s 2026 State of the Graduate Report found.
“They do not want to be ‘the last one in, first one out’ of their new job,” Monster career expert Vicki Salemi said, adding young people are noticing waves of corporate layoffs. “They really want to feel like they’re going to be in a job for the long term.”
An April 2 Challenger, Gray & Christmas report may have confirmed some of their fears. It found U.S. employers announced 60,620 layoffs in March – up 25% from February – with AI adoption the primary reason behind a quarter of the cuts.
Overall, the U.S. economy added 178,000 jobs in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated April 3 – a figure well above forecasters’ expectations. That’s up from a now-downwardly revised 133,000 lost in February. The return to work in March of about 31,000 striking Kaiser Permanente health care workers accounts for some of the rebound.
