The Job Market for Young Grads Is Flashing Red

Plain English with Derek Thompson

The Ringer

News Commentary, News

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Last month, the unemployment rate for recent college grads surged to nearly 6 percent. Compared to the overall economy's jobless rate, the unemployment rate for recent grads is higher now than in any month on record, going back at least four decades. Business school grads are struggling, too. Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that elite MBA programs saw that their most recent classes had "worse job-placement outcomes last year than any other in recent memory." What’s going on? Today’s guest is David Deming, an economist at Harvard who studies education and the future of work. We walk through some plain-Jane theories about the weakening labor market for young college grads. But then, as you’ll hear, the conversation expands to consider the coming storm of AI—and how artificial intelligence is changing education and the workforce for young people. To read more on this topic, check out Derek's Atlantic column from last week. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: David Deming Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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1:22.2	Today, something very strange and potentially very worrying is happening to the job market for young people.
1:30.3	Last month, the unemployment rate for recent college grads surged to nearly 6%. Compared to the overall economy, the unemployment rate for recent grads is higher now than any
1:36.8	month on record going back at least four decades.
1:41.6	Even newly minted MBAs from elite programs are struggling to find work. Here's the Wall
1:46.5	Street Journal from last year. Quote, 23% of job-seeking Harvard MBAs who graduated last spring
	...

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