A fast-growing and concerning number of young American men are discovering that a college degree no longer guarantees a good job — and, in fact, may not help at all.
Shocking new figures reveal that unemployment among recent male college graduates has soared to 7 percent.
That wipes out the long-standing ‘graduate advantage’ that once set them apart from their non-college-educated peers.
In a stunning reversal, young men with degrees are now just as likely to be out of work as those without.
Meanwhile, young female graduates are thriving, with unemployment among educated women remaining steady at around 4 percent, a Financial Times analysis shows.
The gap highlights a dramatic shift in the American job market — one that is increasingly leaving young men behind.
The disparity is raising alarm bells among some economists, sociologists and mental health experts, who say this is just the latest sign that young men are becoming the forgotten demographic of modern America.
Part of the problem lies in shifting career preferences and the explosion of artificial intelligence (AI), which is transforming once-secure male-dominated fields like tech and finance.
Young men college graduates are unemployed at scarily high rates
Women are faring much better, as they opt for such booming sectors as healthcare
Many men pursued degrees in computer science and related areas, only to find themselves competing with algorithms and AI tools that can now write code, generate reports, and automate entry-level tasks.
While tech hiring is starting to rebound from a rough patch in 2023-24, the entry-level landscape has changed, and the old pipeline from campus to corporate cubicle is no longer guaranteed.
‘The data is just eye-opening,’ says the online economist known as Boring Business.
‘We are leaving young men behind like never before.’
At the same time, employers are quietly dropping degree requirements for many roles, leading some Gen Z men to ditch college altogether in favor of skilled trades or gig work.
They argue that college is no longer worth the cost — and in many cases, they may be right.
TikTok is full of videos posted by young men graduates about their struggles finding work.
University of California San Diego alum Nathan Fang recently went public about his painful and exhausting job search.
‘Six months since I graduated, and I’m still trying to tell myself it’s just a phase in my life,’ he says.
‘I feel behind, bruh.’
Fang has since found work. Not so for University of Pennsylvania graduate Derek Deitsch, who posts daily updates on his progress — and the lack of it.
‘Day 430 as an unemployed Ivy League graduate,’ was his latest post.
‘Women tend to be more flexible’ in their job search, says top recruiter Lewis Maleh
Unemployment among recent male college graduates is as bad today as it was after the 2008 financial crisis
And while women are also at risk of AI disruption, they have been smarter about picking recession-proof careers.
Healthcare — with its skyrocketing demand, an aging US population, and hands-on nature — has become a safe harbor in the stormy job market.
And it’s a harbor that women are flocking to.
A massive surge in healthcare hiring has drawn tens of thousands of young women into stable, well-paying jobs that are largely immune to automation.
More than 50,000 of the 135,000 new jobs gained by recent female graduates this past year were in healthcare — compared to a fraction of that number for men across all industries.
The once-popular mantra ‘learn to code’ has given way to a new kind of advice: ‘learn to care’.
In short, young women have adapted. Young men, experts say, have not.
Women are more likely to take roles that don’t perfectly align with their long-term goals, experts say, while men often hold out for ideal positions — even if it means waiting unemployed.
‘Women tend to be more flexible,’ Lewis Maleh, CEO of global recruitment agency Bentley Lewis, told Fortune.
‘Men, on the other hand, often hold out for roles that offer status or match their self-image. That can backfire in today’s market.’
This only deepens the divide: women continue to dominate higher education and funnel into stable careers, while more men opt out, only to find themselves adrift.
But the problem runs deeper than just jobs.
Young men are languishing amid higher rates of suicide, addiction, and homelessness
In a reversal of decades past, nearly 60 percent of US college students are women today
Experts warn that this trend is part of a broader social collapse for young men.
Once dominant in the classroom and the boardroom, young men are now slipping behind women across nearly every major measure of success — from education and career prospects to health, happiness, and even staying off the streets.
While women have surged ahead in college enrollment, graduate degrees, and high-growth industries, men are increasingly vanishing from campuses and entry-level jobs.
Today, nearly 60 percent of US college students are women. But the gap is not just academic — it’s personal, and it’s devastating.
Men are now four times more likely to die by suicide, more likely to suffer from addiction, and make up the overwhelming majority of the homeless.
Mental health experts warn of a ‘silent epidemic’ among young men, with rising rates of depression and drug overdoses tearing through communities.
If current trends continue, young men could become a lost generation, left behind by both the economy and the education system that promised them more.
Policymakers, educators, and parents are now being urged to rethink how we prepare boys for adulthood — before the gender gap widens even further.
Because in 2025 America, it seems the question isn’t whether you have a degree — it’s whether you picked the right one. And for thousands of young men, the answer is now painfully clear.
