Young workers are facing a tougher entry-level job market, with unemployment about twice the national average and AI reshaping the application process.
Young Americans trying to start their careers are running into a job market that is both crowded and increasingly automated, with the unemployment rate for young workers about twice as high as the national average, according to a CBS News “Sunday Morning” report.
The strain is especially sharp for recent graduates seeking entry-level work. CBS spoke with young applicants in Philadelphia, New York, Minneapolis and Anchorage who described months of applications, limited responses and uncertainty over whether a person ever reviewed their résumés.
Meghan Obetz of Philadelphia said graduating did not bring the smooth transition many students are told to expect. “It feels like once you graduate, you know, you're expecting things to just fall into place, and sometimes that's just really not the case,” she said.
Others described a hiring process that feels impersonal and difficult to navigate. Daniel Fischer of Anchorage said one job he interviewed for had 300 applicants. Olivia Bennett of New York said applicants often do not even receive rejections, describing the experience as submitting materials “into some kind of void.”
Laura Veldkamp, an economics professor at Columbia Business School, told CBS that first-time job seekers are facing the toughest conditions in years. She said artificial intelligence is part of the picture, but not the whole explanation. Research suggests AI has raised unemployment by about 0.1 percentage point, she said, while broader employer uncertainty is weighing more heavily on hiring.
That uncertainty includes questions about how AI will affect businesses, as well as shifting tariffs and fluctuating fuel prices, Veldkamp said. When employers are unsure, she said, they tend to avoid taking risks on new hires — a pattern that can hit young workers and entry-level roles first.
The report also noted that 40% of working college graduates have taken jobs that do not require a college degree, including temporary or part-time roles. Veldkamp said high demand from workers can also put downward pressure on wages for those who do find jobs.
Online hiring tools may be compounding the problem. One-click applications on job sites allow candidates to send out résumés at high volume, but that can leave employers sorting through hundreds or thousands of submissions. In response, companies often rely on automated systems to screen applicants, adding to job seekers’ sense that they are competing against both other candidates and software filters.
Laura Fuentes, Hilton’s chief human resources officer, said some industries still show demand for new workers, including health care, energy, AI and hospitality. Her advice to young applicants was to broaden the search beyond a narrow first-choice title and use personal networks, not only job boards.
The outcomes remain uneven. CBS reported that Bennett and Michael Sundheim of Minneapolis eventually found jobs through people they had met, while Bennett accepted a role outside her original field. Obetz was still looking for work in music or marketing, and Fischer was still seeking a job in law or political advocacy.
Fuentes pointed to the month’s jobs report as a sign that more openings, including entry-level roles, may be returning. For many recent graduates, the immediate question is whether that thaw reaches them before months of searching turn into another season of waiting.
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