Young Americans Hit Hard as Internship and Entry-Level Job Markets Tighten
Muneeb Iqbal is just weeks away from earning his master’s degree in integrated design, business, and technology from the University of Southern California — but he still doesn’t have a job or internship lined up. That’s despite submitting a staggering 4,000 job applications over the past year.
The 23-year-old told reporters that he’s repeatedly noticed on LinkedIn how entry-level positions he applies for often end up going to candidates with several years of experience already under their belts. Since starting graduate school in 2024, Iqbal has completed only a single internship — all while taking on $100,000 in student debt.
His frustration reflects a much larger crisis playing out across the United States. Job growth has slowed significantly, making it harder than ever for young Americans to break into the workforce — not just in full-time roles, but even in internships, which are often the critical first step in building a career.
According to Nicole Bachaud, an economist at ZipRecruiter, securing internships or any form of work experience is “the biggest predictor of landing a job out of college.” These early opportunities also serve a second purpose — helping companies develop their future talent pipelines from within.
“It’s a little demoralizing,” Iqbal said. “If they just keep hiring people with a lot more experience, they’re not going to have anyone to grow into those senior roles.”
The situation isn’t unique to graduate students. Enrique Torres, an undergraduate at the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina, has sent out roughly two dozen internship applications in recent months without a single offer. He needs to complete a 12-week internship to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science. While a campus job might be within reach, Torres said that wouldn’t give him the field-specific experience he’s looking for.
“Better opportunities look better on your resume,” Torres explained. “But it’s not under my control, so I’m kind of stressed.”
The numbers back up these personal stories. Internship postings tracked by Indeed in 2024 fell below each of the prior five years, even dipping slightly under 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Pharmacy led all fields with 15.5% of internship postings, followed by marketing at 7.7% and civil engineering at 5.3%.
Meanwhile, the competition for what few internship slots remain has intensified dramatically. Career platform Handshake reported an average of 109 applications per internship posting in 2025 — nearly double the figure from the previous year. The technology sector saw a jaw-dropping 273 applications per posting, while finance wasn’t far behind at 192.
The Long-Term Effects on Young People and Companies
The implications of this internship and entry-level job squeeze extend well beyond individual frustration. Fewer internship opportunities directly translate into lower post-graduation employment rates. ZipRecruiter estimates that roughly four in five college graduates who had work experience while in school secured jobs shortly after graduating. By contrast, only about 41% of graduates with no work experience managed the same.
Unemployment among Americans aged 20 to 24 stood at 6.4% in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — down from a four-year peak of 9.2% in September but still considerably higher than the national rate of 4.3%.
Young workers are typically the first to feel the pinch whenever the broader labor market cools. Employers added a healthy 178,000 jobs last month, but February saw 133,000 job losses, leaving an average gain of just 22,500 across those two months. The government also confirmed this week that the national hiring rate dropped in February to its weakest pace since 2011, excluding the pandemic-driven recession of 2020.
Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor, warned that the early-career struggle could have permanent consequences. “It could also knock them off their career trajectory entirely, where they end up working in a different field than what they had originally planned on,” he said.
For companies, the cost of cutting back on early-career hiring may come back to haunt them. Zhao pointed out that employers who bypass internal talent development may eventually have to recruit more expensively from outside. “People who have grown inside the company tend to be more loyal and more willing to stick around — and they already have the experience to skip onboarding,” he noted.
Even highly accomplished recent graduates are not immune to this trend. Jessica Lopez, 27, graduated last year with a business administration degree from Arizona State University. Her résumé is impressive by any measure — four internships, nine fellowships, a stint as student government president, and an extensive professional network she carefully built throughout college.
Yet despite submitting more than 150 job applications, Lopez has been unable to land a full-time marketing role that includes health insurance. She is currently living with her mother in San Diego and juggling two part-time positions to make ends meet.
“I have a very vast network… and yeah, none of it has really helped,” Lopez admitted. She remains cautiously hopeful, saying, “I’m hoping things will get a little bit better for the economy.”
As the US-Israeli conflict with Iran moves into its sixth week, economists warn that prolonged geopolitical tensions could further dampen hiring activity — adding yet another layer of uncertainty for a generation of young Americans who are already fighting an uphill battle just to get their foot in the door.