Where are new grads finding job opportunities

It’s a brutal hiring market for new grads. Hiring has slowed across multiple industries and competition is especially fierce given AI has recently begun to take on tasks usually associated with entry-level roles. According to a recent analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the unemployment rate for college graduates ages 22 to 27 is up, hitting 5.8 percent at the end of 2025. Overall, hiring is down 7% year over year, and still well below pre-pandemic levels, says Kory Kantenga, LinkedIn’s Head of Economics.

In an effort to help new graduates manage the intimidating start to their career journey, LinkedIn just released its 2026 Grad Guide, which analyzed millions of LinkedIn profiles to find which jobs were hiring new grads, which industries are growing the fastest, and the best cities to find jobs.

The 5 fastest-growing roles for new grads:

1. AI Engineer

2. Marketing Coordinator

3. Recruitment Assistant

4. Legal Specialist

5. Human Resources Operations Specialist

The 5 fastest-growing industries for new grads:

1. Technology, information, and media

2. Real Estate

3. Financial Services

4. Utilities

5. Construction

As far as where grads should be looking for jobs, tech hubs like San Francisco and Seattle are still hot spots. However, a few more surprising cities, like Orlando, which was recently ranked in the number two slot on WalletHub’s best cities to start a career in 2026, given it has the second-highest number of entry-level job openings per capita, a low unemployment rate.

The top 5 cities for new grads:

1. San Francisco

2. Orlando

3. Atlanta

4. Charleston

5. Tampa

However, some new workers are eschewing traditional jobs entirely. “We’re seeing a lot of new grads turning to more alternative types of employment, whether they do gig work or work in retail or a restaurant,” says career strategist Hanna Goefft. “There’s more scrappiness in Gen Z and more visibility online of people taking different paths.”

According to the report, a separate LinkedIn survey found that 68% of Gen Zers in the U.S. are considering starting their own business. Likewise, more than half of Gen Zers surveyed said they’re pursuing freelance or contract roles, rather than more traditional fulltime gigs. Kory Kantenga,  says the pivot is “a reflection of how early careers are evolving, with Gen Z adapting quickly and finding opportunity where it exists.” 

While there’s a ton that’s changing about the job market and where the youngest generation of workers are finding jobs, some sage advice still holds up, the report explains. Building connections, focusing on your skills, and learning as you go are all important parts of eventually landing a job post-college, it says. 

However, there’s one skill that job-seekers may not want to overlook, because companies certainly won’t. That, of course, is the ability to use AI to improve work, solve problems, and “build something tangible.”

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