A new ZipRecruiter survey of 3,000 recent and rising graduates finds that today's grads are working harder to break in, accepting roles below their level, and increasingly worried about AI's impact on entry-level hiring.
77% of recent grads landed a role within three months of graduating, up from 63% a year ago, but grads are applying to more jobs, receiving fewer offers, and having less say in where they end up.
Only 26% describe themselves as on their ideal career path. 51% say their current job is a stepping stone, and nearly one in five are in “bridge” jobs taken primarily to cover expenses while continuing to search.
20% of employed grads say they are overqualified for their current role. 18% intentionally applied below their level just to get a foothold.
47% of recent grads say AI has already impacted hiring in their field, and about half believe AI will reduce entry-level jobs. Yet only 23% say their school provided extensive AI training for professional use.
A gender gap runs through both pay and AI preparation. Recent women graduates earned a median $48,000 versus $60,000 for men, and only 19% of women reported any AI training integrated into their curriculum, compared to 29% of men. Women were also more than twice as likely to receive AI risk training only, without professional application training.
Working during college more than doubles the odds of landing a job after graduation. 82% of grads with work experience are currently employed, versus 41% of those without it.
Read more via ZipRecruiter, HR Dive
As premiums keep rising, young and healthy workers are increasingly deciding that company health insurance isn't worth the cost, creating a dynamic that could destabilize employer-sponsored plans for everyone who stays.
The share of workers covered by employer benefits has fallen to 61%, down from 64% in 2020, according to KFF. Premiums for company family plans rose 6% in 2025.
Workers leaving corporate plans tend to be young and healthy, the very people employers rely on to file few claims and keep plans financially sustainable. Benefits consultants warn that a substantial exodus could drive up costs for remaining employees.
Having healthcare benefits you can't afford is like unlimited vacation. It's a false promise."
As many as 40% of workers waived major medical benefits last year due to cost, particularly at firms with large blue-collar or front-line workforces, according to one benefits consultancy.
Benefits consultant Mercer forecasts total health plan costs per employee will grow at the highest rate in more than a decade in 2026, at 6.5%. About half of large employers say the increases are pushing them to raise deductibles or exclude pricey treatments like GLP-1 drugs.
Read more via Bloomberg
New pill-form weight-loss medications are expanding access to GLP-1 drugs, but for most employers the bigger question remains whether covering them at all is sustainable.
Only 19% of firms with 200 or more employees covered GLP-1s for weight loss last year, rising to 43% among employers with 5,000 or more workers, according to KFF's 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey.
What makes GLP-1s different from other expensive therapies is the scale of potential demand. Up to 50% of a workforce could be eligible, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Oral options may not dramatically expand the market, as a meaningful share of pill users may simply be people who would otherwise have used injectables.
Employers also face a timing problem. The largest health savings from treating obesity often emerge years after an employee has moved on.
Experts recommend against broad, permanent coverage commitments while pricing and clinical evidence are still evolving.
Read more via HCA Magazine
Fidelity is the latest major employer to go all-in on five days a week, but elsewhere, RTO mandates are running into union disputes, health complaints, legal challenges, and age discrimination claims.
Fidelity is requiring workers to return to the office five days per week. The “world’s third-largest investment manager” plans to “require thousands of its US employees to come into the office five days a week” beginning in September. The new policy will mark an end to the “more generous policy that allowed them to work remotely half the month.” The new RTO mandate will apply to “all of Fidelity’s roughly 6,200 Boston-based workers” and the “more than 15,000 staffers spread across New Hampshire, Kentucky and New Mexico.” Staffers in “phone-based customer service roles” will not have to comply with the mandate. (Bloomberg)
Financial Times journalists unanimously voted to launch a formal dispute over plans to increase the office mandate from three days to four, citing concerns about discrimination against parents, commuting costs, and workers hired under the existing three-day policy. The union can ballot for strike action if the dispute process fails. (The Telegraph)
Stellantis employees began reporting nosebleeds, migraines, vomiting and other symptoms after the automaker mandated a five-day return to its 1990s-era Auburn Hills headquarters in March. Michigan workplace safety regulators inspected the facility but did not issue citations, finding mold levels "generally acceptable." The company attributed slightly elevated indoor mold counts to office plants. (Detroit News)
The state of Vermont is facing a costly lesson after a labor board ruled the governor's RTO order was issued without bargaining in good faith with unions. The state may now owe employees restitution for commuting and childcare costs it forced them to incur, while also paying for 22,000 square feet of additional office space leased to support a mandate that may have to be unwound. (The Hill)
AT&T is facing a lawsuit from a 30-year employee terminated at 58 after declining to relocate from New Jersey to Atlanta under the company's office consolidation program. The suit alleges AT&T's CEO made comments at company events about needing "younger people" and using restructuring to "say goodbye" to experienced workers, while younger colleagues in comparable roles were offered hybrid arrangements or relocation support she was denied. (HCA Magazine)
UK retailer John Lewis recently told staff to work "more in-person than not" as part of a turnaround effort following a £21 million loss last year. The British retailer stopped short of a specific day requirement, framing the shift as a hybrid model rather than a full mandate. (People Management)
