College grads are launching their careers in one of the worst job markets in years.
The unemployment rate for recent college grads reached 9.7% as of September 2025, the same as for 20- to 24-year-olds with only a high school diploma, according to Federal Reserve data. Businesses say they’re hiring fewer entry-level jobs because of economic uncertainty and AI developments, per research from the education tech company Cengage Group.
Despite the bad market, recent grads are adjusting their expectations, finding their footing and landing jobs faster than the class before them, according to ZipRecruiter’s 2026 grad report.
Seventy-seven percent of 2025 college grads said they landed their job within three months of earning their degree, per the report. That’s a jump from the year prior when 63% of 2024 grads said they got their job within three months of finishing school.
The 2025 grads most likely to have found work soon after college majored in agriculture and environmental science, nursing, history or philosophy, and education.
