Video: Gen Z graduates face scarce entry-level jobs amid corporate retrenchment

Entering an increasingly challenging and volatile job market, graduates from Generation Z are confronting a disheartening scarcity of professional opportunities immediately following their commencement. This difficult environment is largely a result of widespread corporate retrenchment. In response to mounting economic uncertainties and pressure to control costs, companies across various sectors, including fashion and retail, are implementing hiring freezes, escalating the rate of layoffs, and, most critically for new entrants, severely cutting back or completely eliminating traditional entry-level positions and internship programs. A compounding factor is the rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technologies, which is beginning to absorb tasks previously performed by junior staff, further diminishing the need for a large entry-level workforce.

Consequently, a significant portion of recent college graduates are being compelled to navigate substantially different career trajectories than they had anticipated. Faced with an immediate lack of white-collar professional openings, many are being forced to explore and accept alternative paths simply to gain employment and financial stability. This includes taking jobs in the retail and service industries, often positions for which they are overqualified but which offer immediate wages. Others are shifting their focus entirely toward the skilled trades—such as electrical work, plumbing, and construction—fields that remain in high demand and are less susceptible to AI disruption, representing a pragmatic move away from the saturated professional office environment.