Annual professional employment data released by the New York Fed in early 2026 shows that the unemployment rate among recent computer science (CS) graduates aged 22–27 in the U.S. stands at 7.0%. This figure ranks fifth-highest among 73 major undergraduate majors nationwide, far exceeding the overall unemployment rate for recent bachelor’s graduates (5.6%), which itself is higher than the national average labor force unemployment rate of 4.2%. In contrast, the unemployment rates for recent graduates in nursing and special education are just 2.1% and 0.7%, respectively. Nevertheless, CS graduates still command the second-highest average starting salary at around $87,000, highlighting a structural gap where employed professionals earn high wages while job seekers struggle to find openings.
Employment pressures have already become evident in enrollment figures. The chair of UC Berkeley’s EECS department publicly announced that the number of CS graduates is projected to drop from 1,029 in the 2024–25 academic year to roughly 350 in 2026–27 — a decrease of about 59%. The department attributes this primarily to soaring teaching assistant costs. Nationwide, enrollment in CS programs at four-year institutions fell 8.1% in fall 2025, marking the first decline in nearly two decades. According to Wall Street CN, Princeton University saw its admitted CS majors plummet from 150 two years ago to just 74 this year; hiring trends also show tightening conditions — last year, over 630,000 applicants vied for internships at JPMorgan Chase, yet only around 4,100 were hired, resulting in an acceptance rate of merely 0.7%, down sharply from 2.8% two years prior. PwC reportedly plans to cut entry-level positions from 3,242 to 2,197 over the next three years.
New York Fed | The Daily Californian | Wall Street CN
UC Berkeley CS major enrollment on pace to drop by 59% as part of nationwide trend }