(José Niño, Headline USA) A record 36 percent of unemployed Americans aged 25 and older now hold four year college degrees, marking the highest share ever recorded, according to Bloomberg analysis.
The figure comes from Bloomberg examination of Bureau of Labor Statistics data for January 2026. Specifically, 36.6 percent of unemployed Americans aged 25 and above possessed bachelor’s degrees or higher. Bloomberg columnist Justin Fox noted this partly reflects that college degree holders now comprise a larger share of the overall labor force, with 45.4 percent of employed Americans 25 and older holding bachelor’s degrees in January.
However, the gap between employed and unemployed share has been closing rapidly, nearly halving since mid 2023.
Several structural forces are converging to drive this trend. A Stanford University study published in November 2025 found employment for early career workers began declining in AI sensitive occupations, most of which require college degrees, around the time ChatGPT launched in November 2022.
White collar hiring slowdown has persisted as a continuing trend. By September 2025, college graduates already comprised a record 25 percent of total unemployment, with the unemployment rate for bachelor’s degree holders rising to 2.8 percent. By January 2026, that share jumped to 36.6 percent among those 25 and older, per a report by Bloomberg.
Corporate functions are increasingly performed in lower cost countries, expanding the effective talent pool competing with domestic degree holders. Additionally, degree oversupply creates challenges as the ratio of degree holders to white collar corporate jobs has grown from approximately 1 to 1 to about 2.5 to 1, according to analysis by the Substack newsletter The Finance Hub.
This trend has prompted reassessment of college degree economic value. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland research shows young college graduates no longer find jobs faster than high school graduates, ending a longstanding advantage. The New York Times reported in September 2025 that the fraction of long term unemployed, defined as jobless for six months or more, with college degrees grew from about one fifth a decade ago to roughly one-third.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
