The kids still aren't AI-right

Young Americans are scared of more than AI. They're downright panicky about finding a job at all. Only 20 percent of young workers told Gallup in Q4 2025 that it's a good time to find a quality job, down from 62 percent at the pollster's peak for the measure in October 2021. You rarely see mood swings this severe. This isn't just worried kids succumbing to bad vibes. It's a hard, empirical reality. The U.S. unemployment rate is 4.2 percent—near generational lows. For recent college grads ages 22-27, it's 5.6 percent. That remains close to the widest gap on record. Until COVID, college grads almost always had lower unemployment rates than the overall workforce. Blame AI, right? Well, the evidence is inconclusive. There are many reasons, but uncertainty strikes us as the leading cause.