6 charts to show your family when they ask why you don't have a new job

"Kanika Mohan lost count of her job applications. With a new bachelor's degree, a slate of summer tech internships, and years of networking at campus career fairs, she hadn't expected getting a job to be this hard. "I remember waking up every single day to at least a few rejection emails, and these emails have absolutely no personalization to them," Mohan, 22, told Business Insider over the summer. "You can do three rounds of interviews, yet you'll still get a very generic, 'Sorry. You're not a good fit.'" She eventually landed a role at a top tech company, but months of editing cover letters, prepping for interviews, and getting ghosted had been exhausting."

"Tyler Sorensonknows this all too well. The Gen Zer was so frustrated by limited job vacancies and slow replies to his online applications that he began leaving paper résumés at local businesses. "I literally just had to walk into that store and hand them an actual résumé for them to even take a look at me," he said in the summer. For him, that actually ended up yielding results: He was able to bypass the onslaught of AI applications and get directly to a human."

"When your family asks why you didn't find a new job this year, show them these charts. It's been a year full of milestones for the job market - but not the good kind. Unemployment rates for 20-somethings hit their highest level in years. The job market in the US hit some major milestones this year. Unfortunately for the dozens of job seekers Business Insider has heard from, they weren't the good kind. AI, economic uncertainty, and ashift toward employer power have been felt across the workforce."

Unemployment among people in their twenties reached multi-year highs while the broader job market registered adverse milestones. Young applicants frequently encounter impersonal rejection emails and prolonged silence after multiple interview rounds. AI-driven application systems and reduced vacancy numbers have intensified competition and allowed employers greater leverage in hiring decisions. Some job seekers have resorted to unconventional tactics, such as handing paper résumés to bypass automated screening. Even candidates with relevant degrees, internships, and networking report exhausting search processes, extensive interviewing, and hiring outcomes that feel opaque and demoralizing. Companies are pulling back on hiring amid economic uncertainty, increasing friction for entrants.

Read at Business Insider