The U.S. job market is cooling, and new grads are feeling the chill.
According to the LinkedIn Grad’s Guide 2026, hiring for entry-level roles is down roughly 7% year-over-year and remains below pre-pandemic levels. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports the unemployment rate rose to 5.8% at the end of 2025 for recent college graduates aged 22-27. At the same time, the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE) projects employers will hire just 1.6% more new grads compared to 2025.
Nearly 70% of employers claim to take a skills-based approach to hiring, looking for a combination of internships, volunteer projects, freelance work, and personal projects that demonstrate applied skills and the ability to turn classroom learning into real-world experience. On the other hand, GPA is losing importance. Since 2019, the percentage of employers who screen graduate GPAs has fallen from 73% to 42%.
And when it comes to artificial intelligence, new grads face a quandary. Employers have expectations for how their staff uses AI but are still figuring out the specifics, according to Christine Cruzvergara, chief education strategy officer at the job and internship platform Handshake. Still, a full 59% of respondents to a NACE research report claim they are not going to or are unsure if they will augment entry-level jobs with AI, whereas 25% are actively discussing their AI plans for entry-level roles. The same data finds approximately 13% of entry-level jobs require AI skills; 11% of those jobs include AI in their descriptions.
PROJECTED CHANGE IN NUMBER OF ENTRY-LEVEL COLLEGE HIRES
FOR U.S. EMPLOYERS, COLLEGE GRADUATES | DATA AS OF NOVEMBER 2025
SOURCE: National Association of Colleges & Employers Job Outlook 2026 Survey
To find a job, new graduates are using a combination of search methods. According to Metaintro, professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn remain the most widely used tools, whereas job seekers often drop campus-specific recruiting platforms after leaving school. Major job aggregators such as Indeed are useful for broad awareness and alerts for specific roles and locations. Metaintro claims industry-specific job boards and company career pages are underrated and can bear a disproportionately greater amount of fruit when compared to major aggregators. Pair all of the above with active, relationship-based networking and new grads can gain a leg up on their competition.
Strategic Insights
- The top five industries for projected hiring growth are: miscellaneous professional services; engineering services; construction; finance, insurance, and real estate; and management consulting. Healthcare, skilled trades, cybersecurity, and business operations are also active in hiring new grads.
- On the flip side, the 14% of employers who plan to decrease hiring in 2026 tend to represent: pharmaceutical manufacturing; transportation; wholesale trade; food and beverage manufacturing; and miscellaneous manufacturing. Hiring for the general tech industry also remains uneven.
- The share of fully hybrid jobs has declined in the past year, falling from 47% to 42%; the share of fully on-site jobs has risen from 43% to 48%. Fully remote jobs have held steady, comprising 10% of the market. Half of all entry-level positions require an in-person presence, whereas only 6% are fully remote.
How Can Credit Unions Support Entry-Level Job Seekers?
- Students across the country are moving into credit union internships. Such opportunities support the future of the industry while providing practical, real-world work experience for future job seekers. Read more in “From Internship To Credit Union Career.”
- Holy Rosary Credit Union has embedded itself into a local high school’s career and technical education program, offering scholarships, internships, and courses eligible for college credit. Read more in “Inside An In-School Model That Links Classrooms With Careers.”
- California Credit Union offers a summer internship program, and alumni have left their mark on the credit union’s operations. Read more in “Interns Inspire Innovation At California Credit Union.”