Is It Hard to Find a Job as a New Grad Right Now?

If you graduated recently and the applications keep disappearing, you are not imagining it. So, is it hard to find a job as a new grad? Yes, harder than it is for graduates with a few years of experience. As of 2026 Q2, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York puts unemployment for recent college graduates at about 5.6%. The data here covers the US only. This guide walks through the numbers, what one study says is behind them, where AI fits, and what you can actually control.

Is it hard to find a job as a new grad? The NY Fed numbers

The New York Fed tracks recent college graduate unemployment and underemployment on its college labor market page. “Recent graduates” there means people ages 22 to 27 with at least a bachelor’s degree.

As of 2026 Q2 (NY Fed college labor market update, US only): unemployment for recent college graduates ages 22 to 27 was about 5.6%. Underemployment edged up to 42%.

Refresh note: these figures are re-checked monthly for three months from publication, then quarterly. The NY Fed updates the page quarterly, so a monthly check keeps this label if nothing has changed.

Underemployment among college graduates means working in a job that doesn’t typically need a degree. It is a separate problem from unemployment: you can have a job and still be underemployed.

Put together, the two figures tell a fuller story than either one alone. Some recent graduates are still searching, and a much larger share have found work that doesn’t use their degree. If you are in the second group, a job that pays the bills while you keep looking for a better fit is a common place to be, not a sign that you have failed.

Two cautions when reading these numbers. They describe the US as a whole, not your field, school or city. And a single quarter’s move up or down is not a trend. This guide makes no predictions about where they go next.

Why it got harder: the remote-work finding

Explanations for the new grad job market 2026 job seekers face are everywhere. One of the more careful ones comes from a Liberty Street Economics post by NY Fed researchers, published June 1, 2026.

Published June 1, 2026 (NY Fed, Liberty Street Economics): One NY Fed study estimates, in what its authors describe as a back-of-the-envelope calculation from national survey data, that remote work explains much of the rise in unemployment for young college graduates: “our back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates that remote work can explain 64 percent of the increase in unemployment for all young college graduates between 2017−19 and 2022−24.” The authors also note that “generative AI and other factors may play a more primary role in determining the employment patterns of younger workers going forward.”

For contrast, the study reports that unemployment for experienced graduates went from 1.9% to 1.8% (2017–19 vs 2022–25).

That is one study’s estimate, not a settled cause, and the authors themselves flag its limits.

The same post makes a separate point about mentorship. “Working with proprietary data from a Fortune 500 company…”, the authors look at how junior workers learn, and that single-firm evidence supports one idea only: remote work can reduce the mentorship and feedback junior workers get. It is not the source of the 64% estimate above.

Is AI the reason?

It is the obvious question, and the honest answer is that the evidence here points elsewhere for most of the rise. The same NY Fed study says the timing points to remote work rather than generative AI for most of the rise. The authors still leave room for AI to matter more in the future, as quoted above. For the wider evidence on AI and job cuts, see our breakdown of is AI causing layoffs.

What new grads can control

You can’t change the market, but you can change where and how you compete in it.

• Target roles that train juniors. Look for structured entry-level programs, rotational roles and teams that describe how they onboard new hires.

• Consider in-person or hybrid roles where learning happens. The study doesn’t prove this is the right move for you, but if remote work reduces mentorship, time near experienced colleagues is one possible way to get it back.

• Build proof of skills. Projects, portfolio pieces, volunteer work and coursework you can show often carry more weight than a list of classes.

• Use the experience you already have. If you interned, ask what it would take to turn an internship into a full-time offer.

If your resume feels thin, this guide on how to get a job with no experience covers practical ways to build evidence and get past the first screen.

A new grad’s plan (illustrative). Jordan, an invented marketing graduate, narrows the search to hybrid entry-level roles with a stated training plan and spends two evenings a week on a small campaign project to show in interviews. Nothing about the plan guarantees an offer, but every part of it is in Jordan’s control.

The common thread is focus. A shorter list of roles where you can learn, backed by work you can show, usually beats a long list of applications sent everywhere. Review what is working every few weeks and adjust one thing at a time, so you can tell which change made the difference.

FAQ

Is it worth getting a degree?

This guide doesn’t give enrollment advice. The NY Fed figures above describe recent graduates only, as of 2026 Q2.

Will it get better?

The data makes no forecast, and neither does this guide. Check the as-of date on the figures above, since they are refreshed regularly.

Is the data for my country?

No. The NY Fed figures cover the US only.

Conclusion: Read the data, act on what you control

New grads do face a harder market than experienced graduates right now, and one study points mainly to remote work rather than AI. Read the dated numbers for what they are, then put your energy into the levers you control.