It's not very encouraging. According to very recent research from Stanford's Digital Economy Lab, published in August of this year, companies that adopt AI at higher rates are hiring juniors 13% less. Another study from Harvard published in October of this year cites that early-career folks from 22-25 years old, in these same fields, are experiencing greater unemployment while senior hiring remains stable or even growing.
Landing your first job has never felt easy - but for today's college grads, the hunt has likely gotten worse. In a survey of 2,440 class of 2026 students, more than 60% said they felt pessimistic about their career prospects, according to Handshake's Workforce Outlook report. That's a 10% jump from two years ago. While grim, that outlook may reflect the reality of today's challenging entry-level job market.