Young Men Are Struggling In A Slowing Job Market, Even If They Have College Degrees

Emanuel Barcenas feels for illustration he’s falling behind. At 25, he’d for illustration to beryllium surviving successful his ain place, redeeming money for nan early and making capable money to return a day retired to dinner.

Instead, 2 years aft he graduated pinch a machine subject bachelor’s grade from nan Illinois Institute of Technology, he’s unemployed and surviving pinch his parents successful nan suburbs of Chicago. Despite having applied to much than 900 jobs — from caput positions to a domiciled astatine a situation — he has gotten only a fistful of interviews.

“I want to beryllium an adult,” he said. “I request to fastener in, I request to move forward, but correct now, I’m conscionable stunted. I’m trying my best, but I conjecture my champion isn’t bully enough.”

Barcenas has recovered himself successful a occupation marketplace pinch less places for young men, according to economists and caller labour marketplace data. Amid a wider slowdown successful hiring, nan unemployment complaint for men ages 23 to 30 pinch bachelor’s degrees has jumped successful caller months to 6% — compared pinch 3.5% for young women pinch nan aforesaid level of education, according to information analyzed by NBC News.

Now, young men pinch bachelor’s degrees are somewhat likelier to beryllium unemployed than young men pinch conscionable precocious schoolhouse diplomas, nan study found. That’s a caller reversal aft decades erstwhile young men pinch bachelor’s degrees had an advantage successful nan labour market, economists said. Young women haven’t knowledgeable nan aforesaid trend; they are still importantly likelier to beryllium employed if they person bachelor’s degrees.

The displacement successful employment prospects for men compared pinch women is tied partially to nan changing dynamics of nan labour market, successful which overmuch of nan occupation maturation has been driven by hiring successful nan wellness attraction and societal services manufacture — successful which astir 80% of workers are female, according to information from nan Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Essentially 100% of nan labour unit maturation complete caller months, possibly moreover a mates of years, has been coming from nan wellness attraction industry, and that manufacture is overwhelmingly female,” said Emerson Sprick, head of status and labour argumentation astatine nan Bipartisan Policy Center, a nonprofit that brings together Democratic and Republican policymakers. “While astatine nan aforesaid time, you’ve seen these traditionally antheral blue-collar jobs successful manufacturing, transportation, warehousing, mining — those person been down aliases flat. So that’s creating a batch much difficulties for men.”

Emanuel Barcenas struggled to find activity aft he graduated pinch a machine subject degree.Courtesy of Emanuel Barcenas

Tech is among nan traditionally male-dominated fields that person been deed peculiarly difficult by layoffs successful caller years. Around 132,000 tech manufacture workers person been laid disconnected successful 2025, connected apical of 238,000 successful 2024, according to a tally from nan tech occupation website TrueUp. At nan aforesaid time, machine science-related tracks person been among nan apical fields for men graduating pinch bachelor’s degrees successful caller years, adding to nan proviso of workers amid shrinking request from employers.

Barcenas did concisely get a full-time occupation pinch his machine subject grade moving arsenic an technologist connected brake systems for nan car institution Stellantis. He moved to Michigan for nan occupation past summer. But it ended aft 4 months erstwhile his full section was laid off. In nan twelvemonth since then, his only income has travel from driving for Uber and doing immoderate video editing projects connected nan side.

“I don’t person a unchangeable guidelines correct now. It’s very rocky, and I’m not judge if I will make it, if nan instauration will beryllium bully capable successful nan early aliases if it’s going to topple over,” he said.

Across nan economy, hiring by employers has been slowing, making it peculiarly challenging for younger workers trying to get their ft successful nan occupation market. The system added conscionable 73,000 jobs successful July and less jobs than antecedently forecast successful May and June, according to nan monthly jobs study from nan Bureau of Labor Statistics. In manufacturing, a traditionally male-dominated industry, 11,000 jobs were lost past month.

President Donald Trump claimed this period that those numbers were “rigged” to make him look bad and fired nan caput of nan Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The Economy is BOOMING nether ‘TRUMP,’” he posted connected Truth Social successful announcing nan firing.

But a booming system isn’t what immoderate of those connected nan beforehand lines of trying to find activity person been experiencing.

“Every feline I cognize that is without a occupation correct now wants to work, but they conscionable can’t get it,” said Eli McCullick, who has been looking for a occupation for much than a twelvemonth aft he graduated pinch a grade successful sociology from nan University of Colorado Boulder. “It’s demoralizing for guys who really want to get up and it’s conscionable not happening.”

McCullick, 23, said he hasn’t moreover been capable to get an hourly occupation astatine a edifice aliases doing cleaning activity astatine a edifice successful nan Boulder area, wherever he’s surviving astatine a spot his begetter owns. The only measurement he has been capable to gain money to screen his nutrient and regular expenses has been to do overseas jobs for friends and relatives, for illustration shoveling equine manure, mowing lawns and helping an older female hole for a gait sale.

After much than a twelvemonth of looking for work, McCullick decided to pivot to rule school, which he hopes to commencement adjacent year, and he was capable to usage his individual connections to get a paid internship astatine a rule patient this fall.

The struggle to find activity has shifted his governmental views. He said he voted for Trump past twelvemonth successful hopes that a 2nd Trump presidency would amended nan system and his chances of getting a job. Trump accrued his support among younger men successful nan 2024 election, winning nan ballot among men nether 30 by 1 percent constituent complete Democrat Kamala Harris, according to exit polls.

Eli McCullick's trouble uncovering a occupation led him to see rule school.Courtesy of Eli McCullick

But McCullick said he now regrets that ballot and fears Trump’s policies astir tariffs will raise prices and create economical uncertainty that slows hiring. He said he opposes nan caller tax trim and spending measure passed successful Congress, calling it “totally antithetical to nan thought of helping Americans” because of its cuts to nutrient assistance and wellness security for lower-income households.

“I voted for him, but I’ll show you what, it wasn’t because of immigration, it wasn’t because of overseas policy; it was because I bought nan large dishonesty astir prosperity and economical growth,” McCullick said. “This was successful ’24 erstwhile I was struggling to get a job, and I really hoped that would make it better. But everything he’s done since has done nan nonstop opposite. So I consciousness disaffected, not only successful nan occupation marketplace narrowly, but politically generally.”

Results from an NBC News Stay Tuned Poll, powered by SurveyMonkey, successful April recovered 45% of young men approved of Trump’s occupation performance, while only 24% of young women did. The approval among young men was akin to that among nan wide population, though little than among men successful older property groups.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said nan management intends to boost nan system by reducing regulations, cutting taxes and moving connected waste and acquisition deals to summation American exports.

"President Trump’s America First policies unleashed historical job, wage, and finance maturation successful his first term, and this aforesaid argumentation operation — astatine an moreover bigger standard — is group to present again successful President Trump’s 2nd term," Desai said.

The White House, citing information from nan Bureau of Labor Statistics, pointed to declines successful unemployment since Trump took agency for men of each ages without a assemblage grade and for men ages 20 to 24 sloppy of education. (NBC News' study looked astatine a different group: men ages 23 to 30 pinch a bachelor's grade and those pinch a precocious schoolhouse degree.)

For decades, men’s employment prospects person been deteriorating while women’s person been connected nan rise. Since nan 1990s, a greater stock of women than men person been earning bachelor’s degrees, pinch astir half of women ages 25 to 34 holding bachelor’s degrees arsenic of past year, compared pinch conscionable complete a 3rd of men, according to data from nan Pew Research Center.

Young men are likelier to beryllium financially limited connected their parents compared pinch young women, pinch 74% of women describing themselves arsenic mostly financially independent, compared pinch 62% of young men, according to a separate Pew study released past year.

While men are still likelier to beryllium successful nan workforce than women, men’s information — nan percent of men moving aliases looking for activity — has been declining for decades. Now, astir 68% of each men are considered to beryllium portion of nan labour force, down from 69% earlier nan pandemic and 73% earlier nan Great Recession.

Most men who aren’t moving aliases looking for activity said successful a survey that it was because of individual wellness issues — astir apt nan consequence of men’s having much physically demanding jobs — while women’s apical logic was caring for children, according to Sprick, of nan Bipartisan Policy Center.

“It’s not a awesome clip for young men to beryllium not doing awesome successful nan labour market,” said Richard Reeves, laminitis and president of nan American Institute for Boys and Men, which researches and advocates for men’s well-being. “We’ve already had these semipermanent trends successful higher acquisition and net and geographical mobility that are already beautiful troubling.”

Sean Breen, who graduated this outpouring pinch a communications grade from California State University, Long Beach, said he and astir each of his precocious schoolhouse friends, some men and women, are backmost location surviving pinch their parents and unemployed. He said moreover those who went to top-ranked colleges and sewage seemingly in-demand degrees are incapable to find work.

Sean Breen returned location to look for activity aft he graduated.Courtesy of Sean Breen

“It is for illustration a precocious schoolhouse reunion,” Breen said. “We’re all, we are backmost successful Marin County this summer, each unemployed, each trying to find a barista job, a part-time something, because we haven’t recovered anything.”

After having applied to hundreds of jobs, he said, Breen now plans to spell to postgraduate schoolhouse successful nan autumn astatine Trinity College successful Ireland, wherever tuition is importantly little and, he hopes, jobs will beryllium much plentiful.

“I don’t want a pity party, but it was truthful absorbing to beryllium successful my position and look astatine each my different peers, arsenic well, and beryllium like, what happened?” Breen said. “It didn’t really matter what schoolhouse aliases grade — it’s conscionable nan existent occupation market.”

The struggles alteration by industry, and Reeves said he would for illustration much programs to promote men to spell into wellness attraction and break down nan gender stereotypes astir definite profession paths — akin to efforts to promote women to spell into construction.

“If wellness and societal attraction really are wherever a batch of jobs are coming from and men aren’t successful them, we request akin argumentation responses,” Reeves said.

Barcenas, who graduated pinch a machine subject degree, said he’s unfastened to different fields but would for illustration to put this acquisition to use. He worries astir pivoting to different profession successful which he could yet beryllium faced pinch nan aforesaid uncertainty. For now, he doesn’t cognize what nan early holds.

“It does messiness pinch me. I get very anxious,” he said. “Is this really it’s going to beryllium erstwhile I’m 26, erstwhile I’m 27, erstwhile I’m 28?”