College graduates throughout the world are facing record unemployment. The unemployment rate for recent graduates in the United States is nearly double that of the general population. College grads in the United Kingdom face a similar level of unemployment. The youth in Europe are in a far worse situation, and it is not uncommon for areas to see unemployment levels around 20% to 40%. Chinese and Indian cultures value higher education, but the youth in both nations are facing unemployment levels of up to 20%. College degrees no longer guarantee financial success.
One of Britain’s largest recruitment agencies is encouraging young adults to explore blue-collar positions. James Reed, chief executive of Reed, told Times Radio that he averaged 180,000 graduate job position openings three or four years ago, but that figure has declined to 55,000. “The direction of travel is what worries me. Some people might say, well, that’s your business. But every other business is saying the same thing, that far fewer graduate opportunities are available to young people,” he said. Job recruitment agency Indeed found a 33% annual reduction in available graduate jobs over the summer and that trend is expected to continue thanks to automation and increased business costs. “It’s like a white-collar recession, rather like the blue-collar recession of the 1980s. I recognise the same pattern in a way, when a lot of jobs are being hollowed out by automation. I’m thinking about factories [before] and offices now,” Reed also commented.
Gen Z comprises 30% of the global population. They were told that good grades and an advanced degree would provide them a head start in life. Instead, especially in the United States, these young adults are saddled with debt that they cannot pay off. Less than half of graduates can find jobs within their field of study.
Youth unemployment can become the catalyst for political unrest and even revolution, which is precisely what recently happened in Nepal. The youth are the future taxpayers, yet governments are destroying them before they even begin. Youth unemployment is a direct result of bad economic policies, taxation, and regulation that drive jobs offshore. Universities have turned into political indoctrination factories producing debt slaves rather than skilled workers. This generation has been robbed of opportunity, and history warns us that when the youth see no future, they rise up against the system.
Youth unemployment ties into the birth rate crisis as the number of deaths far outnumber births in nearly every developed nation, and therefore, there are not enough taxpayers to offset the decline. If they cannot find work, they certainly cannot afford a home. Only 9% of Gen Z adults in America owned homes as of 2024. Less than 15% of Gen Z can afford homes in the UK, compared to 63% of Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers. In Canada, youth are experiencing a similar level of home ownership, with rates above 15%. Europe varies widely but the market is largely inaccessible to Gen Z. The youth in South Korea are experiencing the lowest documented rate of home ownership among young adults at 2.5%.
The younger generation is questioning the entire system. They played into the system their entire lives and lost. Civil unrest always begins with the younger generation, who demand to be heard. When the youth see no path forward, they burn down the status quo. The younger generation in Nepal burned down Parliament and forced leaders to flee due to building resentment that grew into hatred for government overlords. Unemployment is expected to steepen as we enter the end of the next ECM cycle, and the youth will feel the brunt of the burden. History shows that the younger generations will not quietly accept defeat.