Employers forecast 5.6 percent hiring rise for 2026 college graduates
A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers finds US firms planning a 5.6 percent increase in hiring new college graduates from the class of 2026. One third of the 185 employers polled expect to add more hires than last year. Gains will hit information services, engineering services, wholesale, and construction hardest, with the biggest firms projecting 8.7 percent growth. This marks a shift from two years of sluggish markets and earlier flat forecasts.
Entry-level postings had shrunk to just 17 percent of openings, with AI automating junior tasks and job descriptions demanding proficiency grads never learned. Non-technical degrees felt sidelined as recruiters scanned for any AI signal amid rejection rates over 99 percent on hundreds of applications. Now a modest rebound targets specific sectors where basic AI tools can amplify field knowledge like market analysis in wholesale or trend forecasting in information services. Grads who bridge the gap with prompt-based projects gain an edge before competition thickens in this narrow window.
Analysis
This hiring bump is no fix for the AI skills wall blocking your applications—it's your cue to prove competence where it counts. Pick information services or construction; build one ChatGPT project dissecting sector trends from public data and post it to LinkedIn today as portfolio proof.
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