The postsecondary graduating class of 2020 faced unique challenges as it entered the labour market during the initial waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from the National Graduates Survey reveal that over half (55.6%) of those who graduated in 2020 saw their employment status or employment plans change at some point that year as a result of the pandemic.
About 3 in 10 graduates (30.6%) lost their job or were laid off in 2020, while nearly 1 in 4 (23.6%) had an employment prospect—such as a scheduled interview—cancelled. Around 1 in 10 (9.6%) graduates experienced a delay in the start date of a new job, while 8.8% had a job with a confirmed start date cancelled.
Changes to employment status or employment plans were more common among college (58.3%) and bachelor's (55.8%) graduates than among master's (47.3%) and doctoral (45.9%) graduates. This finding aligns with a study which found that 'triple-protected' jobs defined as those that have no predetermined end date; have a low risk of being lost or transformed due to automation; and which are resilient to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic—are less likely to be held by those with a bachelor's degree than by those with a graduate degree.
