The great graduate job drought
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 20 February 2026
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Donald Trump says the next 10 days will decide if the US strikes Iran or does a deal with the Islamic republic. Plus, the FT’s Anjli Raval explains just how bad the job market is for new graduates, and hiring platform Greenhouse’s CEO tells us his solutions.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Trump says he will decide in next 10 days if US will strike Iran
The great graduate job drought
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Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted and edited by Marc Filippino, and produced by Henry Larson and Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Kent Militzer. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, folks. I know things at the FT News briefing have looked a little different lately. You could |
| 0:04.3 | say that it's been a whole new world, but when you sit down with your mug of coffee or tea on |
| 0:10.7 | Monday, things might look more like they used to. Yep, that's right. We're switching to a revamped |
| 0:16.3 | version of our original logo. Hope you like our new old look. Good morning from the Financial Times. |
| 0:25.9 | Today is Friday, February 20th, and this is your FT News briefing. We've got a special show for you |
| 0:31.7 | today. We're going to figure out just how bad the job market is for new graduates and what a CEO |
| 0:37.3 | of a hiring platform has to say about it. |
| 0:39.9 | It's easier than ever to apply for jobs. It's harder and harder to get a job, and they're not hearing back as much along the way. |
| 0:45.0 | But first, an update on the Middle East. I'm Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day. |
| 1:04.5 | Thank you. All eyes are on the U.S. and Iran. |
| 1:11.6 | President Donald Trump said yesterday that he will decide in the next 10 days whether America will strike the country or make a deal. |
| 1:17.1 | Trump has been threatening to attack Iran since it brutally cracked down on anti-regime protests last month. That crackdown killed thousands of people. Also at issue is Iran's nuclear program. The Trump |
| 1:23.3 | administration has held indirect talks with Tehran about it recently. The U.S. has been sending |
| 1:28.3 | military resources to the region over the past several days. This is one of the biggest buildups in the |
| 1:33.1 | area since America's 2003 invasion of Iraq. American military officials have said that the strike |
| 1:39.0 | could come as early as this weekend if Trump orders it. Oil markets are volatile because of all this. |
| 1:44.8 | The price of Brent crude hit a six-month high on Thursday |
| 1:47.2 | and has been trading above $70 a barrel. |
| 1:55.9 | Finding a job out of college is getting harder. |
| 1:59.0 | The unemployment rate for recent graduates is climbing faster |
| 2:01.8 | than the rest of the population. That's according to U.S. Census Bureau data, but that's also playing |
| 2:06.4 | out all over the world. Honestly, navigating the job market right now has been tougher than I expected. |
... |
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