Remote work, not AI, is the primary driver of higher unemployment among young college graduates, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York study.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York study compared unemployment rates in occupations that can be done remotely—such as software development—with those done in person, such as nursing. It found that unemployment among young college graduates in remotable jobs rose by about 1 percentage point from 2017-2019 to 2022-2024, while unemployment for older workers (aged 29 and over) in those fields declined slightly.

Businesses are reluctant to hire recent college graduates into remote roles because on-the-job training and mentoring are harder to conduct outside the office. In non-remotable jobs, unemployment rates showed little gap between younger and older college graduates.

The study calculates that remote work is responsible for nearly two-thirds of the rise in unemployment rate for young college graduates since the pandemic.