July 18, 2025
Gen Z Faces Toughest Job Market In A Generation, With 60% Of New Grads Unemployed
Nearly 60% of recent grads are out of work compared to previous generations.
New research shows just how much harder it is for Gen Z to secure a job after graduation compared to previous generations.
A new report from Kickresume reveals that 58% of recent grads are still job hunting, compared to just 25% of older generations like millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers. The findings come as Gen Z continues to voice frustration with a tough job market, while some older generations dismiss their struggles as a sign of laziness.
“The journey from classroom to career has never been straightforward,” the researchers wrote. “But it’s clear that today’s graduates are entering a job market that’s more uncertain, more digital, and arguably more demanding than ever.”
Amid the rise of AI and widespread layoffs, researchers found that nearly 40% of past graduates secured full-time jobs by graduation, while only 12% of recent Gen Z grads have done the same, making them three times less likely to have a job lined up right after school. Adding to the dismal reality, about 20% of job seekers have been searching for work for 10 to 12 months, and last year, roughly 40% of unemployed individuals reported not landing a single job interview in 2024.
The hiring process has become tougher, with employers requiring candidates to pass unusual logic tests and personality quizzes just to be considered. Many young professionals are spending full-time hours job hunting, sometimes sending out as many as 1,700 applications, only to face rejection, all while competing against companies using AI to screen resumes.
Gone are the days when a college degree guaranteed a job. Now, 4.3 million young people are NEETs: not in education, employment, or training. This has become a global problem, with the UK experiencing a 100,000 increase in its NEET population in just the past year.
“Universities aren’t deliberately setting students up to fail, but the system is failing to deliver on its implicit promise,” Lewis Maleh, CEO of staffing and recruitment agency Bentley Lewis, told Fortune.
Though these findings don’t boost job hunters’ confidence in an unstable economy and tough job market, researchers advise young professionals to seize any opportunity rather than hold out for their dream job.
“We often tell graduates not to stress too much about their first job,” researchers wrote. “It’s just a starting point, not a life sentence.”
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