Small businesses say they aren't planning to hire many recent graduates for entry-level jobs - here's why

Small businesses say they aren’t planning to hire many recent graduates for entry-level jobs – here’s why
Published: January 13, 2026 8:15am EST

Murugan Anandarajan
Professor of Decision Sciences and Management Information Systems, Drexel University
Cuneyt Gozu
Associate Clinical Professor of Organizational Behavior, Drexel University
David Prisco
Director, Center for Career Readiness, Drexel University


(The Conversation) Small businesses are planning to hire fewer recent college graduates than they did in 2025, making it likely harder for this cohort to find entry-level jobs.

In our recent national survey, we found that small businesses are 30% more likely than larger employers to say they are not hiring recent college graduates in 2026. About 1 in 5 small-business employers said they do not plan to hire college graduates or expect to hire fewer than they did last year.

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This slowdown is happening nationwide and is affecting early-career hiring for people graduating from both college and graduate programs – and is more pronounced for people with graduate degrees.

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Many small employers in our survey said they want to hire early-career workers. But small-business owners and hiring managers often find that training new graduates takes more time and support than they can give, especially in fields like manufacturing and health care.

That’s why many small employers prefer to hire interns they know or cooperative education students who had previously worked for them while they were enrolled as students. ..................(more)

https://theconversation.com/small-businesses-say-they-arent-planning-to-hire-many-recent-graduates-for-entry-level-jobs-heres-why-272020