New grads may have a harder time landing their dream job, despite a strong labor market — here’s why

Newly
minted
college
graduates
should
feel
pretty
good
about
their

job
prospects.

The

U.S.
economy
just
notched
another
month
of

job
gains,
and
although
the

unemployment
rate
edged
up
to
3.9%, “the
streak
below
4%
has
continued
for
27
consecutive
months,”
said
Mark
Hamrick,
Bankrate’s
senior
economic
analyst.
 

“The
fact
remains
that
the
job
market
has
remained
more
robust
and
resilient
than
had
been
expected,”
he
added.

Still,
those

entering
the
workforce
may
be
in
for
a
few
shocks.

“Oftentimes,
college
graduates
come
out
with
this
expectation
they
will
get
an
executive
job
making
$100,000
a
year,
and
that’s
not
realistic,”
according
to
Ivan
Misner,
founder
of
business
networking
organization
BNI.com.

Starting
salaries
align
with
last
year’s,
but
there
will
still
likely
be
a

disconnect
between
what
new
grads
are
hoping
for
and
what
they’ll
get,
Misner
said.
Recent
college
graduates
earn
a
little
more
than

$62,000
a
year,
on
average,
according
to
ZipRecruiter.

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Some
employers
are
scaling
back
on
their
hiring
plans
altogether.
Overall,
hiring
projections
for
the
class
of
2024
fell
5.8%
from
last
year,
according
to
a

report
from
the
National
Association
of
Colleges
and
Employers,
or
NACE.

The
report
found
that
the
decline
follows
a
historic
hiring
boom
in
the
aftermath
of
the
pandemic,
suggesting
that
this
year’s
drop
is
a
return
to “normal”
hiring
plans. 

The
class
of
2024
now
believes
employers
have
the
upper
hand
in
the
job
market,
at
least
compared
with
last
year,
as
more
candidates
compete
for
fewer
positions,
according
to

Monster’s
2024
State
of
the
Graduate
report.

And
yet,
there
are
a
few
things
that
young
adults
entering
the
job
market
aren’t
willing
to
compromise
on,
especially
on
work-life
balance.

Graduates
are
prioritizing
flexible
hours
and
mental
health
support, Monster
found.
Most
want
a
hybrid
schedule,
with
60%
saying
they
would
not
even
apply
to
a
company
that
requires

a
five-day-a-week
return-to-office
mandate.

“This
year’s
graduating
seniors
were
in
high
school
during
the
pandemic
—
they’ve
only
known
having
multiple
options,”
said
Monster’s
career
expert
Vicki
Salemi. “To
them,
this
is
not
even
the
new
normal.
This
is
normal.”

But
going
forward,
those
just
starting
might
have
few
remote
options.
Full-time
workers
between
the
ages
of
20
and
24
are
less
likely
to
be
fully
remote
compared
with
other
age
groups,
due
in
part
to
seniority
level,
according
to
another

new
grad
hiring
report
by
payroll
provider
Gusto.

Companies
with
remote
work
opportunities
will
allow
job
seekers
to
cast
a
wider
net,
Salemi
said.

“In
terms
of
the
quality
and
quantity,
they
can
pursue
jobs
beyond
the
constraints
of
a
particular
zip
code,”
Salemi
said.

And
when
it
comes
to
location,
opportunities
and
pay
can
vary
greatly.

After
years
of
high

inflation,
new
grads
must
also
contend
with
elevated
food,
transportation
and housing
costs,
depending
on
where
they
go.

New
York
City
has
the
highest
rate
of
new
grad
hiring
but
also
comes
out
on
top
as
the
least
affordable
city
for
those
just
entering
the
workforce,
according
to
Gusto’s
report.

New
York’s
average
starting
salary
of
$64,134
could
feel
like
just
$28,479
when
adjusted
for
the
Big
Apple’s
high
cost
of
living,
Gusto’s
report
said.

Alternatively,
salaries
in
Austin,
Texas,
stretched
the
furthest
in
a
comparison
of
the
country’s
major
cities.
There,
the
cost
of
living
is
1%
lower
than
the
national
average,
and
the
average
new
grad
earns
$57,418,
on
average.

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