Competition for entry-level positions is stiff, with recent grads competing with young professionals who were laid off during the health crisis and who are now seeking to reenter the job market.
“There is definite crowding in the market,” said Brad Hershbein, an economist at the Upjohn Institute in Kalamazoo, Michigan. “The people who last year didn’t get the job they wanted displaced less-educated workers in jobs that didn’t require a bachelor’s degree. Now they are still looking to get into a better job, but are competing for the same positions the class of 2021 is going for.”
In a recent survey, about 45% of 2020 grads said they are still looking for work, according to employment site Monster. A recent Pew Research Center analysis of federal labor data also found that about 31% of 2020 graduates were unemployed last fall, well above the 22% for 2019 graduates.
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