LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Hundreds packed the Boulevard Mall in Las Vegas on Wednesday, not for a big sale, but for something much harder to come by: a job. As hopeful applicants met face-to-face with employers, recent college graduates are facing a new kind of roadblock in their job search.
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For many fresh out of college, the next step is supposed to be simple — land that first job and start building a career. But Las Vegan Taylor Koontz will tell you it's not that easy.
"I feel like my days go by so slow because I'm like, what am I going to do next? What's my career going to be?" Koontz said.
She was just one of thousands of hopeful applicants at the Boulevard Mall looking to land a full-time position.
A new report released by Handshake, a career platform geared toward Gen Z workers, says the rise of artificial intelligence is eliminating the kind of repetitive, task-based roles that once gave new graduates a starting point. The result? More rejection letters, and more rethinking.
"I love working. I'm very motivated and it's like nobody wants to see that so it's kind of hard," Koontz said.
Data from the career platform shows a 15% drop in entry-level corporate job postings, while applications have surged by 30%. The unemployment rate for recent degree holders is nearly 6% — well above the national average.
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These numbers are making people look where they typically wouldn't, like at the National Technical Institute in Las Vegas.
"It's interesting, I tell people education is for everyone but school's not for everybody," said an instructor at the institute.
The tools are real — and so is the opportunity. Skilled trades are becoming an attractive option for those willing to get their hands dirty and find security in a stable career.
"Especially with the economy right now I look forward to being a plumber. I look forward to getting my hands dirty, having a stable income," said Angel Chavez, a student at the institute.
Chavez is part of a wave of local students choosing tools over tuition — and avoiding years of debt in the process. Since 2022, AI has flooded job listings — but skilled trades remain largely untouched.
So while AI may be changing the future of work, it's also reminding us that not every job can be automated quite yet — and not every success story starts in a cubicle.
"Call me in 10 I'll be a master plumber. And you're ready? I'll be ready. Excited? Yeah, very excited," Chavez said.
