The labor market’s long unbroken streak of resilience is running out. According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data, total employment growth slowed last month, with private-sector hiring essentially flat. Meanwhile, early-career workers are feeling the strain: the unemployment rate for bachelor’s degree holders ages 20 to 24 now stands at roughly 9 percent—about double the national average.
It’s the latest indication that a college degree, once the surest ticket to economic stability, no longer guarantees a clear path to employment—a perception many Americans share. And it raises a bedeviling question not just for colleges, but for employers: how can colleges design learning experiences that stay aligned with the labor market when the thing won’t sit still?
Part of the problem is structural. Too often, colleges build programs without timely input from employers. Meanwhile, companies expect graduates to show up job-ready, despite employers rarely contributing to the education and training process. The result is a loop of mismatched expectations and missed opportunities, leaving too many students unable to secure the kind of employment they invested years of effort, money, and time preparing for.
Colleges, employers, and students each operate on disparate systems. Students are awash in career preparation tools and tech—from AI-powered resume builders to alumni mentoring platforms—but most operate in silos, with no shared data, no cohesive experience, and no way to act on real-time labor market information. It’s a maze of incompatible systems and tools that leaves students navigating consequential decisions about their futures on their own. This is especially true for students who cannot rely on family, friends, or others with relevant career insights and connections.
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