NextFin news, On Monday, September 22, 2025, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell addressed the escalating youth unemployment crisis in the United States, emphasizing that the primary cause is not artificial intelligence (AI) but a broader economic hiring freeze. Speaking after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Powell described the labor market as "low firing, low hiring," where young people, especially recent college graduates and minorities, are struggling to find jobs.
Powell stated, "Kids coming out of college and younger people, minorities, are having a hard time finding jobs," highlighting the uniquely American challenge faced by this demographic. He acknowledged AI may play a role but insisted it is "not the main thing driving" the rise in youth unemployment, pointing instead to slower economic growth, weak hiring, and restrictive immigration policies.
Supporting Powell's view, economists from Goldman Sachs and UBS also attributed the youth unemployment spike to a decline in job turnover and a hiring freeze. Goldman Sachs economist Pierfrancesco Mei noted that "finding a job takes longer in a low-turnover labor market," with job reallocation—the creation and destruction of jobs—having declined since the late 1990s. This low churn disproportionately affects younger workers, with the average time for unemployed youth to find work increasing from 10 weeks in 2019 to 12 weeks in 2025.
UBS chief economist Paul Donovan contrasted the U.S. situation with global trends, noting that youth unemployment rates are at record lows in Europe and Asia. He argued that it is "highly implausible that AI uniquely hurts the employment prospects of younger U.S. workers," and that the trend is better explained by a hiring freeze blocking new workforce entrants.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics underscores the severity of the issue, with youth unemployment reaching 10.8% in July 2025, nearly one percentage point higher than the previous year. The number of unemployed young people increased by approximately 690,000 between April and July 2025, affecting multiple industries and states.
Economists warn that the current labor market conditions could have long-lasting "scarring effects" on Generation Z workers, including reduced lifetime earnings and wealth accumulation. Historical parallels were drawn to the Great Recession, where graduates entering the workforce during that period faced persistent economic disadvantages for over a decade.
Powell also highlighted that minorities are experiencing even greater difficulties in securing employment during this period. He suggested that companies using AI may be hiring fewer young workers, but the dominant factor remains the overall hiring freeze.
Policy experts recommend targeted measures to address the crisis, including incentives for firms to increase entry-level hiring, expanded vocational training, and subsidies for employers who hire recent graduates. These steps aim to mitigate the long-term economic damage to young workers and ensure a more dynamic labor market.
In summary, on Monday, September 22, 2025, Jerome Powell and top economists publicly agreed that the sharp rise in U.S. youth unemployment is primarily due to a hiring freeze and macroeconomic factors, not an AI takeover of entry-level jobs.
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