Only about 700,000 Americans are currently enrolled in a Registered Apprenticeship program out of a labor force of roughly 160 million, even as data shows strong returns for employers and workers alike.
Apprentices earn an average annual salary of $84,000, compared to a national median of $66,000, and see lifetime earnings roughly $300,000 higher than their peers, according to U.S. Registered Apprenticeship data.
Every $100 invested in apprenticeship generates roughly $144 in benefits through higher productivity, reduced turnover, and lower recruiting costs, according to a U.S. Department of Labor evaluation.
Barriers to adoption include an unfamiliar registration process, upfront costs, and a persistent association with the skilled trades, even as apprenticeships have expanded into healthcare, finance, and technology.
The Department of Labor recently issued updated guidance aimed at reducing registration friction, and a $35.8 million federal incentive fund is offering sponsors $3,500 for every new advanced manufacturing apprentice who passes a 90-day probationary period.
"We've seen a lot of organizations drop their degree requirements, but they haven't always retooled their hiring and advancement systems to truly be centered around skills. Apprenticeship is one of the most credible answers to the question of, if not a degree, then what?"
Read more via HCA Magazine, HR Dive
Internship postings on Handshake were down 16% earlier this year, continuing a decline since 2023, while competition has intensified sharply: internships posted during the 2024-25 academic year drew an average of 109 applicants, up from 62 the prior year and more than double the number in 2023.
Some employers have canceled intern programs outright, citing AI's ability to handle intern-level tasks; others, like McKinsey, say they are expanding their intern classes.
Employers converted interns to full-time hires at a five-year high rate of 63% in 2025, according to a National Association of Colleges and Employers survey of 284 employers.
42.5% of recent college graduates were underemployed as of the end of 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Campus career counselors say freshmen and sophomores are now entering the internship market earlier than ever, hoping to improve their hiring odds before graduation.
Read more via The Wall Street Journal
A new essay in New York Magazine argues that this year's college graduates may be the unluckiest in recent memory: COVID disrupted their high school years, a frozen job market greeted their diplomas, and AI threatens whatever comes next. The piece reviews two new books on the state of work for young graduates and lands on a skeptical note about the usual career advice, suggesting that in this environment, collective action may matter more than individual hustle. (Senator Mark Warner, cited in the piece, recently suggested at a conference that the unemployment rate for recent college graduates could hit 30% in the next two years.) (New York Magazine)
The unemployment rate for recent college graduates (ages 22 to 27) hit 5.6% in the first quarter of 2026, above both the 4.2% overall rate and the 3.1% rate for all college-educated workers, according to New York Federal Reserve data.
Hiring in tech, finance, and professional services remains 20% to 30% below pre-pandemic pace, according to LinkedIn data.
The average seasonal-adjusted hiring rate for U.S. entry-level workers fell 6% from December 2025 to February 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier.
Fields with the lowest unemployment aren't necessarily the highest-paying or most glamorous. They're the ones with embedded pipelines."
Oxford Economics estimates that 85% of the rise in the unemployment rate since mid-2023 "is concentrated in new market entrants who can't find work."
LinkedIn identified the fastest-growing job titles for new grads in 2026, led by AI engineer, marketing coordinator, and recruitment assistant; fastest-growing industries include tech, real estate, and financial services.
Mentions of generative AI in full-time job descriptions have increased five-fold since 2023, according to Handshake.
Read more via MarketWatch
Nearly half of all young children in the U.S. live in a childcare desert, according to a new report by the Center for American Progress. Employers are increasingly feeling the workforce consequences.
Childcare-related disruptions cost North Carolina's economy an estimated $5.65 billion annually, including $4.29 billion in business losses and $1.36 billion in lost tax revenue, according to state data.
About 25% of parents report making employment changes, including reducing hours or leaving jobs, because of childcare challenges; researchers estimate parents miss an average of 14 workdays per year due to childcare issues.
The median annual wage for childcare workers was $32,050 as of May 2024, well below the national median of $49,500, making recruitment and retention a persistent problem for providers.
The average cost of childcare was $13,128 in 2024, representing roughly 10% of a married couple with children's median income, according to Child Care Aware of America.
States and employers are beginning to respond:
Virginia signed legislation creating an employer cost-share program for childcare.
Kentucky and Iowa recently made childcare subsidies for early childhood educators permanent.
Michigan is piloting no-cost pre-K through home-based providers.
And at least a dozen states have some version of a childcare benefit for early educators, up from just Kentucky in 2022.
Childcare is infrastructure. It is something that enables people to go to work, live their lives, provide for their families."
Read more via Center for American Progress, Business Insider, The 74, U.S. News, WLOS, WWBT
As AI tools make it easier for candidates to polish resumes and prep answers, employers are increasingly relying on culture interviews to differentiate among applicants who look equally qualified on paper.
Culture interviews focus on how candidates communicate, collaborate, handle conflict, and make decisions under pressure, rather than on technical skills or experience.
"Everybody's resume looks very similar because they're AI-enabled," said one career coach and former Google recruiter. "Your skills and your experience land you interviews, but a culture interview is what gets you an offer."
HR professionals caution that culture interviews carry bias risk, warning against hiring based on familiarity or charisma, and recommend employers focus on "culture add" rather than "culture fit."
Read more via USA TODAY
College seniors expect to earn about $80,000 one year after graduation, according to a Clever survey of undergraduates, but the average starting salary for recent graduates is $56,153, a gap of nearly $24,000.
Students anticipate midcareer salaries of nearly $145,000 on average; the actual midcareer average is $95,521, according to Clever.
The overall average starting salary for the Class of 2026 rose 5.5% to $68,873, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, with computer science graduates projected to be the highest paid at $81,535.
Employers plan to hire 5.6% more new graduates from this year's class than from the class of 2025, according to NACE.
67% of new college graduates said they would trade higher pay for job security, according to Monster's 2026 State of the Graduate report.
Read more via CNBC, Monster
