September 15, 2025
The New York Times recently published an article featuring Emma Wiles, Assistant Professor of Information Systems, examining the sharp rise in long-term unemployment among college-educated workers.
Once a smaller share, they now make up one-third of the long-term jobless, up from one-fifth a decade ago. The shift reflects weak demand for skilled roles amid automation, AI, and federal spending cuts, coupled with fewer jobs requiring degrees and industry declines in sectors like tech and construction. Educated workers may also hesitate to pivot into new industries or take lower-level roles, compounding the challenge.
Wiles highlights how AI and software tools are changing the hiring landscape, noting they can make the process more random by generating a flood of similar looking applications, undercutting the advantage college-educated workers may have previously held.
This trend signals a structural change; long-term unemployment is no longer concentrated among the less educated, but is increasingly a challenge for those with degrees, who now face added hurdles in a shifting labor market.
