UD Seniors Heading into a Job Market That Feels Recession-like
Photo by Pablo Merchán Montes via Unsplash
Patrick Sableski | Contributing Writer
DAYTON, Ohio – As the school year approaches its final days, many graduating seniors find themselves knee deep in the job search. For many, finding and getting offered jobs is a struggle that proves not only long and tumultuous but, at times, borderline impossible.
The unemployment rate for college graduates aged 22 to 27 rose to 5.6% at the end of 2025, the highest it has been since the pandemic, as first reported by The New York Times in a March article. While the United States is not officially in a recession, it certainly feels recession-like for many recent and soon-to-be college graduates.
Bobby Tworzydlo, a UD senior who will graduate in May with a degree in English, is experiencing the harsh market firsthand. “I’ve applied for jobs in things like copywriting and publishing,” Tworzydlo said. “I want to be an author someday, so getting professional writing experience is important. Although now, especially with AI, not many places seem to be hiring writers, so I haven’t found hardly any openings.”
His concerns about AI are not his alone. A November 2025 study conducted by Dr. Eric Brynjolofsson at Stanford University found that workers aged 22-25 in AI-exposed fields, such as copywriting and computer programming, have experienced a 16% decline in employment since generative AI became widely available to consumers. During the same time, older, more experienced workers have remained stable.
Alex Arrington, who is also preparing to graduate with an English degree, has similar difficulties. “A lot of the jobs I’d get right out of college just don’t exist anymore.” Arrington somberly claimed, “Some of my friends in things like business and engineering are having more success because AI is seen as a tool for them rather than a replacement. Most places are using AI in their written material and don’t think they need to hire somebody to do that job.”
While Arrington has seen people in other fields succeed in the job market, the tough labor climate is not exclusive to humanities graduates; it also extends to people in the very industries he named.
After a long and tumultuous search, senior engineering student Ryan Chluda finally struck gold and got accepted to a job. “I applied for hundreds of jobs and got ghosted by 99% of them. It took all year of applying before I got the job I have now.” Chluda says, “All the entry-level engineering jobs require years of experience, which defeats the whole purpose of entry-level.”
This problem comes from a hyper-competitive market across industries, as overqualified applicants apply for lower and entry-level jobs. According to the New York Times article, the problem is twofold. Not only are people applying for jobs they are overqualified for, but older workers are also holding on to their jobs, not opening those positions to younger applicants.
Among the upcoming graduates, business students seem to be the ones most successful in finding job opportunities.
One such student, Matt Kennedy, who studies accounting, has had a job lined up for over a year. “I got offered a job for after graduation last February,” says Kennedy, “I applied for seven or eight jobs, and this is the only one I landed. I do think it’s a little bit easier for me than for other people, though.” He stipulated. “Accounting isn’t really at risk of being replaced by AI, and because the business program sets us up to get internships and things, we’re able to earn pretty good experience even before we start looking for full-time jobs.”
UD’s School of Business Administration’s website boasts information that supports Kennedy’s claims. The front page displays statistics showing that 100% of students complete experiential learning opportunities during their undergraduate studies and that 99% of graduates are employed, enrolled in graduate programs, or participating in a service program within six months of graduation.
Across all disciplines, college graduates are finding it increasingly difficult to find work. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the job market for college graduates is the worst it has been since the pandemic. At UD, just like at schools across the country, the job search is a large source of anxiety for many people preparing to graduate. It has always been this way, but recently there seems to have been a shift. There are still jobs out there for young college graduates, but they are undeniably much harder to find and secure than they used to be.