77% of US graduates call entry-level job requirements excessive

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In the US, 77% of graduates consider requirements for entry-level jobs excessive — CNBC Top News

In the United States, 77% of recent graduates believe that employers require too much experience for entry-level positions. Another 75% of respondents said there are not enough genuinely entry-level jobs on the market, CNBC Top News reports, citing a report by educational technology company Cengage

The study is based on a survey of 931 hiring managers, 759 faculty members at postsecondary institutions, and 1,100 recent graduates in the United States. The survey was conducted from April through August 2026, and its margin of error is approximately plus or minus three percentage points

Experience instead of a career start

Twenty-two-year-old Rachel Grandis, who graduated from Elon University in May with a degree in strategic communications, spoke about the difficulties of finding full-time work. While studying, she worked as a content creator in the university’s athletics department, managed the business school’s social media, completed internships in marketing and social media, and also worked in restaurants and summer camps.

According to Grandis, for some companies an entry-level vacancy effectively requires three years of work experience. She also suggested that AI-powered applicant tracking systems may screen out her resume because of her status as a 2026 graduate before she even speaks with a recruiter

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Labor market for young professionals

Cengage CEO Michael Hansen said that employers have raised their requirements for junior workers. According to him, companies expect candidates to have skills in critical thinking, decision-making, team work organization, and problem-solving. According to the report, 72% of employers believe that rapid changes in the labor market make it difficult for colleges and universities to update programs that prepare students for work.

Only 37% of graduates believe their education was worth the money spent, while 68% gave that answer in 2022. The number of listings on the Handshake platform for early-career professionals rose by only 1% from July 2025 to June 2026 after three years of decline. Employers posted nearly twice as many full-time vacancies for 2022 graduates as for 2026 graduates

According to LinkedIn, hiring for entry-level positions in the United States in August was approximately 6.5% lower than a year earlier. In industries that traditionally hire young professionals actively — financial services, technology, information and media, and professional services — hiring levels were 33–43% lower than in June 2021

Fifty-three percent of graduates reported that they did not apply for certain entry-level vacancies in their field because they considered themselves insufficiently qualified. About one-third of respondents said that a lack of previous experience reduces their chances of employment. At the same time, 24% named previous experience as the most important factor in getting a job, while 14% named having a degree.

Source: ua.news