Class of 2025 College Grads Face Uncertain Job Market

The graduating college Class of 2025 is entering the workforce amid uncertain and difficult economic conditions. 

“New graduates are coming into the job market at a time when the future is murky and many pathways for career entry are less reliable,” said Allison Shrivastava, an economist with the Indeed Hiring Lab.  

Internships are waning and many work sectors are struggling, she added. The newest graduating class will need to be prepared to adapt to shifting opportunities while facing the reality of a tighter, more competitive job market, Shrivastava said. 

The vast majority of graduates (83%) feel confident about landing a job, according to Monster’s 2025 State of the Graduate Report, but many expect the process to take four to six months. And three-quarters of those surveyed said they are worried that factors such as hiring freezes, layoffs, lower-than-expected earnings, and return-to-office mandates could impact their opportunities for getting hired.  

Expectations vs. Reality

Additionally, the grads’ job expectations clash with reality. While 2025 grads anticipate an average starting salary of over $100,000, recent graduates are averaging $68,000, according to ZipRecruiter data.  

Flexibility remains a top priority, valued by 90% of graduates, yet only 29% of employed recent grads reported having flexible schedules, according to ZipRecruiter. Job security is also top of mind, with 80% concerned about it and 64% believing artificial intelligence is making it harder to land roles. 

In addition, job openings are increasingly concentrated in fields that may not align with every grad’s aspirations, Shrivastava added. Entry-level roles are primarily concentrated in in-person and often lower-paying sectors such as food service, driving, and health-care-related positions, including caregivers, home health aides, and personal assistants, she said.  

“While these jobs may not always align with graduates’ long-term career goals, they can serve as valuable opportunities to build a work history,” she said. 

Opportunities in many sectors are more scarce than they were immediately prior to the pandemic, Shrivastava said.  

“Beyond health care, a few knowledge-work sectors also stand out as exceptions to the broader cooling trend,” she said. “Civil engineering jobs continue to be in higher demand than they were prior to the pandemic, as well as jobs in the legal sector. Demand for management roles — including project management — remains strong, as well.” 

The data bears out that younger bachelor’s degree holders are experiencing higher unemployment than those degree holders overall — although both rates are still low. While the unemployment rate of graduates between the ages of 25 and 34 with a bachelor’s degree (3.3%) is lower than the overall unemployment rate (4.2%), it is higher than the rate observed among the broader population of bachelor’s degree holders (2.7%), Shrivastava said. 

“The two rates were closer in the years immediately after the pandemic but have become more volatile in recent years, with the gap widening on average,” she said. “This suggests that younger degree holders may be struggling slightly more than usual to get a foothold in the job market.” 

Summer Internships

Internships have historically been one of the most effective ways for college grads to jump-start their careers, gain experience, earn higher pay, and feel confident in their career path — but they have become harder to land in recent years. 

While internships have rebounded since the pandemic, postings are slightly down in 2025 when compared to the previous couple of years, Shrivastava said. “Although internship postings are still above 2020 levels, that gap is starting to narrow, reflecting the labor market’s cooling demand for workers overall,” she said.  

Fields such as data analytics and HR are seeing especially strong growth in the internship field. Generally, the highest-paying internships are concentrated in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. 

The pharmacy sector has the highest share of internship postings on Indeed, “which makes sense, as an internship is often a necessary first step to obtaining a full pharmacy license,” Shrivastava said. Marketing comes in second, followed by civil engineering and then media and communications. 

Major metro areas such as Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C., still lead in the number of internships overall, but their numbers have dropped, according to ZipRecruiter. In contrast, smaller metro areas such as Bridgeport, Conn., and Durham, N.C., are emerging as hot spots.  

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Is College Still Worth It?

Once seen as a guaranteed path to success, the value of a college degree is under growing scrutiny — especially among younger generations. Nearly half of Generation Z professionals (those born between 1997 and 2012) believe their degree wasn’t worth the cost, compared to just 20% of Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964), according to research from Indeed. This generational skepticism reflects a broader shift in how higher education is perceived in today’s job market, especially in relation to its cost. 

College once led to significantly higher wages, but that wage premium has plateaued in recent years. Meanwhile, the cost of a degree has soared — up as much as 45% over the past two decades, even after adjusting for inflation. Over half of respondents to Indeed’s survey reported graduating with student debt, and 38% said that debt held them back more than their degree helped them advance. 

Compounding this, employers are increasingly dropping degree requirements. More than half of job postings on Indeed no longer required formal education as of early 2024. 

“These results tell us many workers feel their degrees are becoming obsolete — and they’re right to be thinking ahead,” said Aidan McLaughlin, a skills-first hiring advocate and global director of marketing at Indeed. “As roles evolve and AI reshapes the workforce, employers who focus on potential and invest in skill development, not just credentials, will be best positioned to stay competitive.” 

Related Article: Shifting from Jobs to Skills: Rethinking How Work Gets Done 

Shifting College Majors 

Those students who still opt for college seem to be paying attention to the shifts in the work landscape. College students’ preferences are tilting toward technology and health majors while liberal arts, education, and social services fall out of favor, according to a new analysis from the Burning Glass Institute comparing the distribution of majors among U.S. college graduates from 2018 to 2023.  

The research projects that this shift in majors could change the mix of jobs five to 10 years from now. The biggest winners? Computer science and engineering. Computer science majors rose by 52% over that five-year period, which could lead to a 20% increase in software developers and cybersecurity analysts. Engineering majors are also on the rise, especially in biomedical, aerospace, and industrial fields, said Gad Levanon, chief economist at The Burning Glass Institute. 

Health majors are growing, too, but unevenly, he said. Advanced roles such as nurse practitioners and biomedical researchers are seeing double-digit gains. Meanwhile, majors tied to occupational and physical therapy, nutrition, and caregiving are in decline — raising red flags for future shortages in these essential fields, Levanon said. 

The sharpest declines are in humanities, journalism, and education. Majors in English, history, and foreign languages have dropped by double digits, while journalism has shrunk by 31%. Teacher preparation is also down significantly, forecasting a 7% to 9% drop in new K-12 and special education teachers.