Every year, seniors graduating from Boston University feel the pressure to find a job. However, this year, they may face tougher challenges than their predecessors, especially if they are looking locally, according to government data.
Federal Notes as of February 2026 showed a steady decline in private sector jobs in Mass., particularly in high-skill sectors such as the technical and scientific sectors.
The state’s private sector has now lost 24,000 jobs since the pandemic, making it one of only four states to see a reduction.
Even graduates who intend to move may face difficulties.
According to me Federal Reserve Bank of New YorkThe unemployment rate for college students ages 22 to 27 reached 5.6% in December 2025, up from 4.1% in December 2022.
Tariff regulations, reduced federal research, the integration of AI and a weak labor market have all contributed to this shift.
Steve Koppi, assistant provost for Career Education at BU’s Center for Career Development, said the private sector currently faces many uncertainties in business and governance, as well as high borrowing costs that make growth difficult.
He noted that during the epidemic and after this epidemic, many companies – especially some of the technology ones – were hired and now they have to prepare.
“Student interests haven’t changed much. I think it’s a market that has changed,” Koppi said.
Koppi added that the economy is now “reviving unemployment.” As it grows, “employers with many heads are facing” now say that the number of jobs created as a result is lower than it was in the past.
Boston, for example, has been a thriving center for life sciences, he said. But students hoping to get hired in that industry have to deal with the fact that biotech companies aren’t hiring at the same rates as before.
To cope with these changes, Koppi said students must be flexible and persistent in their job search strategies.
Students should think of their major as a career relationship rather than a single person, he said. In that way, degrees become stepping stones to help students reach the level they want.
It can also help if students look for smaller companies and other locations when looking for work, he said.
Junior Adina Shabdar said her peers who received job applications would find them in other places like New York, not Boston.
As an international student from Kazakhstan, he said job opportunities in the US are very limited. He expanded his research to Kazakhstan, where he has now completed two internships.
“It’s really easy to find [internships] there because of the way I was educated in the United States.” He said: “For them, it’s a bonus, and they want you to stay in one of their companies.”
He also said that it is easier to find job opportunities by building connections and networking, rather than applying for postings.
Senior Nadia Mason also said the internet has been “important” in navigating the current job market.
In the age of AI, he said showing up to your employers is no longer enough.
“[Employers will] read your resume and look for these keywords…
He said the Internet is Koppi’s “number one” strategy for job hunting, because it’s flexible, open and “requires some discovery and some exploration.”
“[You’re able] to learn about what is happening, to learn where the opportunities are, to get advice from the people who are leading you,” he said.
Koppi compared the job search process to the Boston Marathon, saying that runners cannot control the environment in which they run.
He said: “What you can control are the things that each of us can do. “I can develop a good plan. I can connect. I would like to ask for opinions and help from others. I can do the things I can do to be successful.”
The job market isn’t all bad news, Koppi said. According to CCD’s “preliminary field research” – a study of where Boston University’s graduate class is headed – 95% of the class of 2025 could work, volunteer, graduate school or serve in the military.
He said: “It’s not just any bad thing that can happen. “It all depends on sustained effort over time. Quality, not quantity of applications.”
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