About That College Grad Who Can’t Find a Job…
About this episode
The episode discusses the challenges faced by recent college graduates in finding jobs and the implications for the economy.
(Originally aired 7/1/2025) Newly minted college graduates are having a harder time landing that first job than in recent years. Is it AI? Is college useless? Is it a crisis? (No. No. And not yet…) College graduates under 27 still have significantly lower unemployment rates (5.8%) than high school graduates of the same age (6.9%). What economist Kathryn Edwards finds worrying is that these new workers, who are typically a lagging economic indicator, may in this case be a bellwether of a weakening economy. Support the Optimist Economy podcast by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack , or donating at https://buymeacoffee.com/optimisteconomy Complete show notes with links to articles and data at optimisteconomy.com . You can also find Optimist Economy on: TikTok YouTube Instagram -------- Read More: The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates [New York Fed, 2025] Hires, from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey [St. Louis Fed, 2025] Downskilling: changes in employer skill requirements over the business cycle [Labour Economics 2016] Upskilling: Do Employers Demand Greater Skill When Workers Are Plentiful? [The Review of Economics and Statistics 2020]
People in this episode
Host: Robin Rauzi
Guest: Kathryn Edwards
Topics covered
- college graduates
- unemployment
- economy
- AI impact
- labor market
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Optimist Economy, New York Fed, St. Louis Fed, Labour Economics, The Review of Economics and Statistics
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