BlackRock CEO Warns AI is Triggering ‘Crisis’ for Gen Z: Class of 2026 Faces Highest Unemployment Since 2013

As millions of college seniors prepare to graduate, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is sounding the alarm: the class of 2026 could face the highest unemployment rates in years—even without a recession. Speaking at BlackRock’s 2026 Infrastructure Summit, the 73-year-old finance titan warned that AI is rapidly dismantling the traditional entry-level roles that have long served as the first rung for college graduates. The unemployment rate among recent college graduates ages 22 to 27 currently sits at 5.6%, near levels not seen since 2013, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Job postings on Handshake fell more than 16% between August 2024 and August 2025, while the average number of applications per role jumped 26%. “The speed at which AI is changing, we’re not adapting our society fast enough,” Fink said, noting that the post-World War II pathway to white-collar jobs—a four-year degree—is being disrupted. Despite the warning, Fink pushed back on the idea that college is no longer worth it at all. After graduating from UCLA in 1974 with a political science degree, he earned an MBA and launched a career first at First Boston before spending the last four decades building BlackRock into the world’s largest asset manager. Still, he cautioned that the college-to-career pipeline is no longer universal. Where demand is growing—with not enough supply—is in the skilled trades, fueled in part by the expansion of AI infrastructure like data centers. “AI is going to create many jobs and we’re not prepared as a society to fulfill those jobs,” Fink said. “And to me, this is a crisis.” To help address the gap, BlackRock committed last week to invest $100 million in skilled-trade programs, aiming to reach 50,000 workers over the next five years in roles like electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers, and ironworkers. More than half of employers view the job market for the class of 2026 as “poor” or “fair,” according to a survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers—the most pessimistic reading since the start of the pandemic. Still, many CEOs are striking a more optimistic tone, framing the moment not just as disruption, but opportunity. AMD CEO Lisa Su pointed to the upside for graduates entering the workforce who lean on the technology to find new ways to innovate. “The Class of 2026 will be graduating at an exciting time, as AI transforms our world and expands what is possible,” she said. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan struck a similar tone—acknowledging the anxiety many young people feel, but encouraging them to channel it. “If you ask them if they’re scared, they say they are. And I understand that,” Moynihan told CBS News earlier this year. “But I say, harness it… It’ll be your world ahead of you.”

Intel provided by: Declan Cross

Interim Market Researcher
(Note: Declan Cross is covering this desk while Arthur Sterling is on special assignment.)