Researchers speculate that employers are reluctant to put such workers in a setting where it’s harder to absorb lessons from coworkers. The researchers found the unemployment rate among younger college grads — those under the age of 29 — rose 20% after the pandemic, while unemployment among older college grads fell slightly. The study compares unemployment rates pre-pandemic, from 2017 to 2019, with unemployment rates after the pandemic, from 2022 to 2024. Unemployment rose as remote work grew fourfold, the researchers write. “Our analysis suggests that these trends are related, with remote work making it more difficult for managers to train and mentor new employees.” Regardless of the cause, the New York Fed report warns that a high unemployment rate among young college grads is concerning.
“Early-career experiences can have lasting consequences,” the researchers write. “Research finds that individuals who began looking for jobs in slacker labor markets tend to have lower earnings and slower career progression relative to comparable peers who began their job search in better market conditions.”
Further reading: Why Is the US Job Market So Tough, Especially for Recent College Grads?
