Handshake Network Trends: The class of 2023 forges ahead

This fall, the class of 2023 will enter their final year of college having experienced a global pandemic, an unprecedented shift to remote instruction, the Great Resignation, and rising inflation. Given a steady stream of news around a potential recession and possible contraction in hiring, how will the newest cohort of college jobseekers respond?

To find out, we asked the incoming class of 2023 how they feel about the economy, the actions they’ll take to secure a job, and whether they think they can find a well-paying job that aligns with their interests when they graduate.

And, we plan to re-survey these same users over the course of the year to see how their feelings change, so stay tuned for more insights in the months ahead.

In this report, we find a group anxious about the near-term, but optimistic about their long-term future. Worries about money and stability pervade responses to every question, even as the group by and large expresses a positive outlook about what’s ahead.

This split between optimism and anxiety is reflective of mixed trends economists and policymakers are confronting in the broader labor market: for instance, continued warning signs of a recession alongside record-breaking unemployment rates (3.5 percent as of July—a 50-year low). [Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation July 2022]

Read on for six takeaways on how the class of 2023 is responding to news about the job market, as well as actions for companies, career educators, and students to take as a result.