Master’s degrees hiring at one of its worst levels in 20 years: ‘Been a bit tough’

• Master’s degrees are leading to fewer jobs, with businesses increasingly uninterested in advanced education.
• Unemployment for under-35 master’s holders is near 2008/2020 highs, per Burning Glass Institute.
• Over 40% of employers won’t hire master’s holders this year, prioritizing skills over diplomas.

Master’s degrees are yielding fewer jobs than almost any time in the last two decades — with some businesses even admitting they’re increasingly uninterested in hiring candidates with advanced education.

Unemployment rates for workers with master’s degrees under 35-years-old are currently at some of their highest rates since 2003 — with only the 2020 pandemic and 2008 recession having worse rates, a study from the Burning Glass Institute showed.

Similar unemployment rates were found for Ph.D, medical and law degree holders under 35, according to the think tank, which used data from the US Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics data to reach its findings.

Those rates have placed people with master’s degrees in the 77th percentile for unemployment — as opposed to the 50th percentile where they typically sit, the Wall Street Journal reported.

One of the reasons behind the dire numbers appears to be a sharp rise in master’s programs to meet an increase in demand since 2005, with programs increasing by 69% as of 2005.

“More degrees chasing fewer of the positions those degrees were meant to unlock,” Burning Glass chief economist Gad Levanon told the Journal.

Unemployment rates have also coincided with the rise of AI and its integration into business practices across the country — with employers reporting they are increasingly interested in people with demonstrated skills over somebody with a diploma.

“We are seeing that, hands down, especially in the last two or three years with AI,” Johnny C. Taylor Jr., president of the SHRM human resources lobbying group, adding that employers are far more interested in “Can you do it?” than classroom competence.

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Numbers reflecting those sentiments are alarming for master’s holders — over 40% of employers don’t have any plans to hire them this year, according to a recent survey of Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business.

That’s up from 28.6% in 2025.

“Every indication is hiring managers now are more receptive than ever to the idea that a person doesn’t need a graduate degree to be competitive,” Taylor said.

And some recent graduates are feeling the pressure.

Kevin Vado just finished a master’s of business at the University of Florida, and has applied to 200 jobs while networking with over 80 alumni from his school — but still hasn’t landed a job offer that he likes.

“It’s been a bit tough getting interviews,” Vado told the Journal. “I haven’t gotten the amount of offers that I truly expected.”

Vado — who worked at Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley before going to school — still stands by his degree.

“It might sound cheesy, but the personal side of being in business school is fulfilling,” he added. “I feel like it’s still worth it, but with this job market, it hasn’t yielded as high of a return as I expected, so far.”