Recent college graduates increasingly unemployed, research finds

(NewsNation) — Recent U.S. college graduates are increasingly struggling to find employment despite their qualifications, research has shown.

Oxford Economics determined that graduates — those age 22 to 27 with a bachelor's degree or higher — have contributed 12% to the 85% rise in the national unemployment rate since mid-2023.

Those graduates make up only 5% of the total workforce, meaning they're contributing more than double their share to unemployment statistics.

Recent graduates also have a nearly 6% unemployment rate, beating out the national unemployment rate of 4.2%.

That's the highest since 2021 and more than double the rate for all college graduates, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Underemployment is also on the rise: 41% of recent graduates