Employment opportunities for young adults are deteriorating as demand for AI-adjacent skills rises and hiring slows. Analysis from researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reports that employment rates for ages 18 to 24 fell by more than 2 percentage points between April 2023 and December 2025, with fewer opportunities driven largely by higher unemployment rather than labor-force exit. The study attributes roughly one-third of the increase in unemployment to greater demand for AI-related skills in job postings, alongside a “low-hire, low-fire” hiring pattern where employers advertise and onboard fewer entry-level roles. For higher education, the finding sharpens the focus of student success planning: colleges are being pushed to align coursework and experiential learning with rapidly shifting skill requirements—especially for first job searches.