US College Graduate Unemployment Hits Highest Since 2013 Amid AI Hiring Shifts

The job market for recent college graduates in the United States is experiencing an unprecedented crisis, with unemployment rates for new graduates rising to 5.8%, the highest since 2013 excluding the pandemic period. This surge is driven by a combination of cyclical post-pandemic hiring slowdowns, economic uncertainty under the Trump administration, and the increasing replacement of entry-level positions by artificial intelligence, which particularly impacts fields like technology and business. Many new graduates face the paradox of entry-level jobs demanding several years of experience, forcing them into part-time or unrelated work, while major employers scale back on hiring new graduates. The resumption of student loan repayments has added financial stress to graduates already struggling to secure meaningful employment. In contrast, China is actively implementing policies to stabilize and expand college graduate employment through subsidies, tax incentives, job creation in private and state-owned enterprises, and targeted grassroots programs to support vulnerable groups. Experts suggest that universities and employers must rethink their roles, as traditional credentialing no longer guarantees job placement in an AI-disrupted and geopolitically unstable labor market.