Paid Service Programs Offer a Path to Employment as Recent Graduates Face Rising Unemployment

Recent college graduates are now more likely to be unemployed than the general workforce, marking the first time this has occurred since the New York Fed began tracking the data in 1990. Unemployment for recent graduates held at about 5.6 percent this year, up from under 4 percent before the pandemic. As artificial intelligence reshapes the economy, employers report difficulty finding workers with basic interpersonal skills, and young people are struggling to find a strong on-ramp to work.

Michael D. Smith, former CEO of AmeriCorps and current leader of Eckerd Connects, argues that the answer lies in paid, structured national service. Writing in a commentary for Fortune, Smith says that service is too often dismissed as charity rather than recognized as a workforce strategy. He points to his own experience as a young adult who served his community and later led AmeriCorps, where he watched members develop critical workplace skills and complete their service ready to lead. According to Smith, 94 percent of AmeriCorps alumni say they can solve most problems they encounter, and most report confidence in public speaking and working across political and cultural differences.

Governors are beginning to replicate the AmeriCorps model. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the new chair of the National Governors Association, has made service his signature project, launching «Service United» with $10 million from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation and Schultz Family Foundation to help states build or scale these programs. Maryland Corps, along with similar efforts in California, Colorado, Utah, and other states, offers a framework that dozens of new governors taking office next year should watch, Smith writes.

Smith identifies three elements that make service a viable training ground: stipends that members can actually live on, work on something urgent rather than vague goodwill, and a durable credential or clear pathway to a real job. He notes that when he took the helm of AmeriCorps in 2021, too many national service opportunities were out of reach for the people they were meant to serve. AmeriCorps VISTA members receiving the minimum living allowance earned $6.44 per hour that year—less than the federal minimum wage. Many relied on SNAP benefits and food pantries just to stay afloat. During his tenure, the minimum living allowance was raised nationwide to the equivalent of $13 an hour, with many local partners providing additional support.

The private sector is also building new on-ramps. Anthropic’s Claude Corps, whose first cohort starts this month, will place a thousand early-career fellows inside nonprofits for a year to build tools like an intake screener for a legal aid clinic or an inspection-report tool for a housing nonprofit. The program pays $85,000, puts fellows to work on urgent problems, and provides a credential worth having. Smith also cites Cat Ward, CEO of the Taproot Foundation, who advocates for «skilled volunteerism» roles that develop skills for future careers.

Smith acknowledges that no one knows exactly how AI will reshape the first rung of the career ladder. But he argues that paid, purposeful service has been proven to work over decades, and the infrastructure already exists. What is missing, he writes, is the capital to match the ambition. Employers, policymakers, and philanthropists can supply that without waiting for AI companies to figure out their own future first.

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Connor Quincy

Technology Reporter

Connor Quincy covers public affairs, politics, business, culture and daily news for Core Memo. The role focuses on verification, context, and clear explanations for readers.

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