Why Getting a Job Is So Hard Right Now, From Mass Layoffs to Fewer Entry-Level Jobs

Additionally, Fast Company cited the use of artificial intelligence to improve resumés and “layoff spillover” from the pandemic years, when companies over-hired, as other reasons it’s generally trickier for workers to land a job.

Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, tells Teen Vogue that, over the past few years, unemployment has been low and workers, particularly those who had less power in the labor market, have had a bit more leverage. Young and lower-wage workers have seen faster wage growth since 2019 than they saw in the roughly 40 years prior.

But under the Trump administration, there have been mass layoffs of federal government employees, the cancellation of funding and grant opportunities at universities, and possible price increases for basic items due to new tariffs on imported goods. “Now we enter a period of a little bit more economic insecurity,” Gould says.

Meanwhile, Gould notes, there’s less “churn” — workers aren’t quitting or switching jobs at the rates they were in recent years. She explains that, often, the best way to see faster wage growth is to get an outside option: Find a new job or get an offer and use it as leverage to negotiate a better salary. “But now there are a lot of workers staying put,” she continues, “so those openings are not coming up for newer entrants to be able to get into those jobs.”

The wage levels many young people face are so low that it can be challenging to move out on one’s own, buy a car, start a family, or pursue higher education. “So those struggles are real,” Gould says. In addition, a 2024 analysis from the Economic Policy Institute found that the unemployment and underemployment rates of Black, Hispanic, and AAPI young high school graduates are higher than their white peers.

Kyra Leigh Sutton, human resources expert in the Rutgers University–New Brunswick School of Management and Labor Relations, says return-to-office policies are a huge factor among the issues facing young workers. “We’re asking a generation, some of whom strongly prefer asynchronous classes, people that have completed internships in hybrid or remote environments, and who also have a history of attending high school classes online, to come into the office,” she tells Teen Vogue via email. “I wouldn’t say that companies are outwardly or strategically considering how to help early-career talent adjust to being in-person.” (Plus, for many workers, including those who are chronically ill or disabled, remote work is a matter of accessibility.)

Ashley Rudolph, an executive coach who founded the company Work With Ashley R, says layoffs have also impacted people responsible for recruiting, and there’s a market flooded with applicants. Many of these applicants are doing what had been, traditionally, all the right things: customizing resumés, finding opportunities on LinkedIn, specifically applying on company websites. Rudolph says she hears from HR leaders who receive more than 1,000 applicants in 48 hours, are sometimes themselves understaffed, and resort to not responding. “The system that existed and worked five years ago, that we’ve all been trained to go along with,” she says, “it’s what we know is just not effective anymore.”

What do experts suggest?

Rudolph suggests adjusting the approach to networking. She thinks “people are less likely to want to hop on a random coffee meeting with someone that they don’t know, but they’re more willing to answer a specific question from someone who they can relate to.” That could look like identifying a place you might want to work, reaching out to someone on LinkedIn in a similar position you might be looking for, and building that relationship.