‘I can't afford to be picky right now’: The uni grads struggling to find even entry-level jobs

Saturday, 18 July 2026

When Lucy Parsonson graduated from Auckland University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and English Literature, she was feeling optimistic.

Within three months, she’d landed a job in a film production company. But by the end of 2024, she was made redundant after downturn in the industry.

She has been on a fruitless job hunt ever since.

The national unemployment rate stands at 5.3% and the percentage of youth aged 15-24 not in employment, education or training rose to 14.4% in the March 2026 quarter.

Plans to slash another 8700 public service jobs has sparked concerns about more competition in an already oversaturated job market.

Parsonson said in the past 18 months she had formally applied for more than 100 jobs and contacted to dozens more asking for work.

Of that, between 20 and 30 had resulted in interviews.

On a few occasions, she’d seen the light at the end of the tunnel - making it to the final round of interviews, only to be beaten out by another candidate with 10 or 15 years more experience.

Desperate for work, Parsonson began applying for roles she was overqualified for, from retail to hospitality to odd gardening jobs.

“I can't afford to be picky right now.”

Parsonson was one of 800 applicants to apply for a part-time customer service role late last year, to no avail. She was told that while she was a strong candidate, all the applicants were of an “outstanding calibre”.

“That’s a bit of a litmus test for where the job market is right now in this country and how hard it is,” she said.

Parsonson is relying on the job-seeker benefit and odd freelancing jobs to keep her afloat, but said it was taking a toll.

She’d already quit her gym membership and given up going out with friends.

“It’s hard over a long period of time because you see your friends plan on taking a holiday somewhere, doing a bit of travel, going to a concert, and you can't join them on anything.”

The constant rejection and disappointment made her feel hopeless and she had begun to question whether she had gone into the wrong field.

“Every once in a while, you just get to a point where you think, ‘I can’t do this anymore’ … it gives you a huge sense of feeling lost and completely stuck in a dead end.”

She had been considering moving overseas to get a foot in the door.

This sentiment was shared by Louis, who asked The Post not to disclose his surname for fear it would affect his job search.

Louis graduated from Massey University in 2024 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design with Honours.

He scored a year-long contract after his studies finished in a role tangentially related to his field.

But that wrapped up in March of 2025 and it had been a “real slog of a job hunt” ever since.

Louis had sent out between 300 and 400 job applications across the country and had heard back from fewer than 15.

The feeling was like “going on [dating app] Tinder, but even more humiliating”.

Louis was sold the promise that getting a degree guaranteed he’d land a good job after graduating. But two years on, he felt like he had been “suckered”.

“I have to accept anything that comes by to pay my bills, regardless of how good at the job I may be or the pay packet for that matter. [It feels like] I spent four years doing nothing, and I may as well have been working instead of racking up student loans.”

Louis said the definition of an “entry-level” job had been warped, pointing out many listings still required two to five years of experience.

“I want to prove myself, but I don’t feel like I’ve been granted that opportunity.”

He was particularly frustrated by the lack of feedback he had received from prospective employers, many of whom did not extend even the courtesy of a rejection.

Louis had considered starting over as a trade apprentice, despite knowing it would mean “another three or four years of being at the bottom”.

“That’s a really long-term investment, but I do need some amount of short-term survival in the now.”

Jason Hungerford, chief executive of the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO), said career changes into the trades were common, including among people with university degrees.

But things in the trades weren’t exactly smooth sailing either.

With the construction industry losing 20,000 jobs since the election in 2023, Hungerford said it had been an undeniably tough time for the sector.

BCITO was seeing fewer apprenticeships than expected, with around 11,500 active learners, compared to its record high of 21,600 in 2022.

“Apprentices are first and foremost employees, so apprentice numbers are a reflection of what’s happening in the wider construction industry,” he said.

The Labour Party recently announced a policy to expand the apprenticeship boost, promising to extend employer payments from one year to two and hand out toolbox grants of $1000 for new apprentices.

Hungerford said this was important as it recognised the contribution and significant investment of employers, who were the teachers and trainers of the future workforce.

But he said it was only part of the solution.

“Businesses need confidence in their pipeline of forward work to support expanding their teams and taking on an apprentice,” he said.

The Coalition Government does plan to invest more in trades. Funds will be redirected from the fees-free university scheme, which is being scrapped at the end of this year.

Ethan Rogacion, academic vice-president of the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association, said that across the board, students’ biggest concerns were the cost of living and the prospect of finding work in New Zealand after graduating.

A recent State of the Students survey found 45% were not hopeful about finding opportunities in their field post-graduation and 70% had thought about moving overseas to find work.

40% of respondents said they had skipped a meal in the past week due to the cost of food - a statistic that Rogacion said was distressing, but increasingly unsurprising.

“Our students are tossing up high unemployment, a tough job market, and a skyrocketing cost of living here in New Zealand against more competitive pay and a wider array of employment opportunities overseas.”

Of students actively looking for work, 47% said they had applied for more than 10 roles in the past six months and 25% had applied for more than 20.

66% didn’t feel hopeful about finding a role in Wellington in the next six months.

Rogacion said there had been a serious decline in grad roles and internships available in Wellington, especially within the public service.

“This has real, long-term consequences for the future prosperity of Aotearoa … it will become harder and harder to keep New Zealand's brightest, most talented and ambitious young people in the country.”