Recent college graduates are facing a tough job market, and one of the new hurdles they’re encountering is that employers are offering far fewer entry-level jobs that require no prior experience. That may be one of the factors that’s contributing to an unemployment rate of 5.6% among recent college graduates (age 22-27), higher than the 4.2% rate for workers overall.
New data from Cadient, the AI-powered hiring platform, documents that employers spanning healthcare, government, utilities, and transit have become increasingly reluctant to hire individuals who have no prior work experience. Based on an analysis of 7,984 salaried job openings across a stable panel of employers from 2022 to 2026, the findings point to a door that’s closing fast on the inexperienced worker, and the problem is not limited to the tech-based sector. It’s happening in everyday-economy sectors where AI has been assumed to not have yet exerted a large impact.
- The share of salaried jobs open to candidates with no experience has fallen 73% in four years. Inexperienced candidates are now welcomed in just one in 50 openings, down from one in 15 in 2022.
- This group of employers posted 27% fewer salaried openings overall. More than three times as many applicants now apply for every salaried position compared with 2022, and that increased competition is occuring for seasoned and entry-level candidates alike.
- Meanwhile, roles requiring senior-level experience have doubled. Employers increasingly are looking to hire veterans, not rookies.
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They want experience but refuse to give anyone the first job that creates it.