The New Graduate Employability Report from educational technology company Cenage Group was recently released and covered in Forbes. The Cenage Group report focuses on current job market trends and the role of education in meeting market needs.

The most shocking takeaway from the report was that only 30% of 2025 graduates found entry-level jobs in their fields. Going further back to 2024, only 41% of graduates are working in their fields. The reason for this is, according to the Forbes article is the job market and AI. However, the actual report paints a more complex and dire picture.

Employers Don’t Want to Train

Employers don’t really want entry level employees. They want cheap and effective labor. According to the report, the most important skills for an employer are job-specific technical skills and digital and computer skills. Meanwhile, colleges prioritize critical thinking and problem solving skills. In other words, colleges want to be colleges, but employers want trade school graduates.

Traditionally, companies would bridge this gap with industry training. However, this clearly has changed. Employers are looking for out-of-the-box productive employees.

AI is, Again, a Boogeyman

Peppered throughout the report are mentions of AI, but not in the way you think. At no point does the report or the article state that positions are being replaced by AI. Instead, they refer to AI skills - employers want AI skills, schools think AI skills are the responsibility of the student or employers.

What exactly are AI skills? Surprising to no one, that is not addressed.

It’s Still the Job Market

The finger pointing and soft skills versus hard skills are a tale as old os time. Companies want employees to be productive, schools want to teach their graduates how to think. Then what’s the real reason to this record low employment for new graduates?

Turns out, the answer is right in the report, too. 76% of employers are hiring the same or fewer entry-level employees.

  • 51% cited a tightening labor market.
  • 46% cited the current state of the economy.

It gets even worse. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the vast majority of new jobs created is in the Education and Health Services sector, which is highly dependent on government funding. We all know how well that is going.

Same Struggles, Long Term Affects

It’s clear that new graduates are facing the same struggles as 50-year old laid off candidates. We all are at the mercy of the job market and companies. However, stunting an entire generation of new employees has long-term ramifications to the entire economy and will take a heavy mental toll on these new laborers.