Jeanina Banks, a recent graduate from Temple University, started applying for jobs in April, one month before she walked across the stage and received her bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration. Yet with the hundreds of job applications submitted over three months, Banks said she has only heard from a handful of companies.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I graduated in May, I felt like, since you\u2019re coming out of college, you should have job opportunities rushing towards you, and it hasn\u2019t been like that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The entry-level jobs Banks found through Handshake, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter consist of door-to-door sales, working outside, and\/or cold-calling potential customers. \u201cThose are the kinds of opportunities where they are just trying to bring in anyone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Another graduate, Eryn Waters, started applying for jobs in February, six months before her commencement last year. With an estimated 250 applications, the Temple finance graduate only heard back from 50 jobs and received offers from two. She now works and commutes to Baltimore a few days out of the week as a tax associate at CohnReznick.<\/p>\n
Though the job hunting process did not go as smoothly as she hoped, Waters said she\u2019s fortunate to have secured a job out of college. \u201cIt\u2019s like an online dating profile,\u201d she said. \u201cYou want them to swipe right.\u201d<\/p>\n
The effects of youth unemployment are causing economic hardships as Gen Zers \u2014 people born between 1997 and 2012 \u2014 face a reality of low-paying jobs, a difficult labor market to break into, and the increasing cost of living, especially in America\u2019s sixth-largest city.<\/p>\n
The hurdles that Banks, Waters, and others have experienced in landing work sound all too familiar to job experts, who are worried about the current state of employment for young applicants.<\/p>\n
Age bias, the dismantling of DEI initiatives, and the rise of artificial intelligence are also factors, they said, which may widen the employment gap between racial groups.<\/p>\n
Disparities,<\/strong><\/p>\n Though there are no recent official statistics available specifically on the unemployment rate for Black Gen Zers in Philadelphia, Black\/African-American and youth unemployment in Philadelphia are higher than in other racial and age groups.<\/p>\n A report by Accelerate Health Equity said Black Philadelphians are unemployed at more than double the rate of whites in the city. And according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Gen Zers between the ages of 16 and 19 were over four times more likely to be unemployed in June 2025 than someone over 25.<\/p>\n Experts argue that manual labor-intensive jobs are being overwhelmed due to the effects of President Donald Trump\u2019s tariff plans on various industries. Corporate office jobs are also becoming scarce because of the development and quick advancement of artificial intelligence, which saves companies money by eliminating job roles and not having to cover benefits for employees.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have a situation where hiring is slowing down because companies are hesitant and workers are concerned about the economy, so they\u2019re not leaving their jobs and creating job openings,\u201d said Adam Goldman, the executive director of the Philadelphia Unemployment Project.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s administration has caused some frustration for the working class, experts have said, not only with trade wars, tariffs, and federal cuts, but with the federal removal of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, which affect Black Americans of all age ranges.<\/p>\n \u201cI did apply to a lot of graduate programs, but I feel like my applications have been turned down, especially because of the race question,\u201d Banks said. \u201cI have been putting in two or more races, and I haven\u2019t been putting in that I\u2019m African American.\u201d<\/p>\n When it comes to job security, the disparity between the employment of white and Black job candidates has existed for more than 50 years, or at least when agencies started to record and report on labor statistics.<\/p>\n A recent Forbes report found that nearly 60% of new graduates considered Gen Zers were still looking for full-time work, compared to about 25% of previous generations.<\/p>\n And in addition to race, another concern for young job seekers is age bias, according to Goldman. \u201cOne major thing that\u2019s always there is discrimination in the labor market,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s gobs of evidence that shows that there is bias in hiring decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n