Jobs that new college grads are and are not landing

The March jobs report showed a rebound with 178,000 jobs added and the unemployment rate falling to 4.3%, offering some hope amid a "low hire, low fire" labor market. Employers are holding onto workers but adding few new ones, which hits recent college graduates hardest as they seek entry-level roles. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York pegs their unemployment at 5.6% for those with bachelor's degrees or higher, though the challenges vary sharply by field.

Student Struggles on Campus

At Howard University in Washington, DC, seniors voiced real anxiety about breaking into the job market. Chemical engineering major Monica Maya applied to about 50 jobs over six months, receiving some rejections but no offers, prompting her to extend into a fifth year rather than graduate without prospects. Broadcast journalism junior San Yu Lakoma described her soon-to-graduate friends' worries, amplified by rising prices: a degree feels valuable, but no job makes the transition "dangerous." These stories reflect broader job-search frustration, with some applying to hundreds of roles before landing one, or scrambling for internships.