Philly is a tough landing spot for recent college grads, data suggests
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New college graduates might have a tough time landing their first gigs in Philly, a new study from payroll services provider ADP suggests.
Why it matters: The metro area ranks low when it comes to affordability, wages and hiring, ADP found — so entry-level job seekers might be better off looking elsewhere.
The big picture: It's a tough job market for college grads. Private-sector layoffs are at historic lows, but recent data suggests many businesses are holding off on hiring.
- While the national unemployment rate is about 4%, it was more than 7% for college graduates in June, per the Wall Street Journal.
- The trend is exacerbated by the rise of AI, as employers experiment with how to make their workforces more productive, Axios' Courtenay Brown reports.
State of play: The Philadelphia metro ranked in the bottom tier of the 55 metro areas ADP assessed in its recent study.
- Philly scored 40th (with a 28 combined percentile rank) — which takes into account cost-of-living data and hiring rates for jobs requiring degrees with wages adjusted for affordability.
- Plus, the rankings are also based on ADP payroll for more than 5 million U.S. workers in their 20s.
By the numbers: Philly's average entry-level salary ($51,365) feels more like $49,000 when you factor in all the costs. Consider rent: The median for a one-bedroom rental in the region is around $1,500, per Zumper.
- Plus, our hiring rate was 2.2%.
Zoom out: Raleigh, North Carolina, which ranked top on the list, had a hiring rate of 4.2%, and, comparatively, a more affordable cost of living.
The bottom line: College grads not willing to squeeze into smaller rentals are going to feel the squeeze here.