The class of 2025 is celebrating graduation season, but the reality of securing a job is particularly challenging due to market uncertainties under President Donald Trump, the surge of artificial intelligence eliminating entry-level positions, and the highest unemployment rate for recent graduates since 2021. Jenna, 23, was excited to receive a job offer from the federal government in January. However, by March, the offer was put on hold because of the continuing hiring freeze affecting federal civilian employees, driven by Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE-related cuts. “It’s been quite disorienting, ” she told The Independent. “I don’t think anybody saw this coming. ” Jenna, who preferred to be identified by her first name only, graduated last week from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in data science and is now awaiting a full-time position. According to a recent report from the New York Federal Reserve, the unemployment rate among recent college grads climbed to 5. 8 percent in the first quarter of 2025, up from 4. 5 percent at the same time last year. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate increased to 41. 2 percent, compared to 40. 6 percent in 2024. The college majors with the highest underemployment rates included anthropology, physics, computer engineering, commercial art and graphic design, fine arts, and sociology. Jenna has applied to about 100 other jobs, but competition in data science is fierce, and she is struggling to distinguish herself to AI systems screening resumes. “I have no idea what this AI is trained to look for, ” she said. “I don’t know what the buzzwords are.

I don’t understand the algorithm…So it feels even more like a crapshoot. ” Her concerns are heightened by the fear that AI could replace the kind of work she hopes to do. “What can I actually do as a recent graduate that some robot won’t take over?” she asked. This apprehension is justified. Unemployment in the tech sector has increased to 5. 7 percent this year as billions are invested in AI implementation across industries. Routine and mundane tasks, typically assigned to new graduates—such as reporting and clerical work—are increasingly being automated. The World Economic Forum estimates that AI will create 170 million jobs but will also displace about 92 million jobs, resulting in a net gain of 78 million jobs. Jesse Zmick, 34, who is set to earn a master’s degree in cybersecurity this summer from the University of Virginia, is more concerned about the current job market than emerging technologies. He currently works in the university’s systems administration and cybersecurity team and is learning to navigate AI models to enhance his competitiveness for future roles. He has observed his peers struggling in their job searches due to economic factors and the automation of some entry-level positions. “If I were looking at entry-level roles now, I’d be more worried, but that’s probably more about the economic situation and the fact that tech companies are generally cutting back at the moment, ” he explained, noting the sector is adjusting after overhiring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jenna’s approach to her future echoes that of millennials who graduated during the 2008 recession: she is obtaining additional certifications to attract recruiters, plans to move back home to northern Virginia once her current college job ends in the summer, and has graduate school abroad as a backup plan. “I don’t have the experience or credentials, like a master’s degree in data science, that some positions seem to require, ” she said.