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Breaking Job News: Parents Are Now Rethinking the Value of College & the Labor Market Freezes
The headlines say the job market is “cooling,” but the real story is far more revealing. Behind the flat JOLTS numbers, steady openings, steady hires, and another drop in quits, is a labor market that has stopped accelerating and started stabilizing. Workers are switching jobs less, competing offers are thinning, and employers are quietly regaining leverage. Host Pete Newsome breaks down what this shift means for pay and power, and how both candidates and hiring managers should adjust their strategies.
He also zooms out to the path after high school. Parents still favor college, but confidence is fading fast as career and technical education gains legitimacy. With rising costs and clearer outcomes from alternatives, families are reassessing what success actually requires and where non-degree routes outperform the traditional four-year path.
On the hiring front, employers are rewriting the rulebook. Degrees still matter, but experience now rivals them, certificates are becoming trusted proof of skills, and nearly half of employers plan to expand skills-based hiring. Add the rise of AI fluency, from practical use cases to formal credentials, and the new standard is clear: show what you can do, and back it with evidence.
Whether you're building your career or shaping a team, the takeaway is the same: focus on outcomes, stack skills that map to real roles, and use assessments that mirror actual work.
💬What part of this shift do you think will reshape the workforce the most?
News Articles:
1. BLS JOLTS Release: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm
2. ASA Youth Career Readiness Outlook: https://www.asa.org/research/youth-career-readiness-outlook-parent-views-2025/
3. WGU Workforce Decoded Report: https://www.wgu.edu/content/dam/wgu-65-assets/web-sites/impact/wgus-workforce-decoded-report.pdf
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👋 FOLLOW PETE NEWSOME ONLINE:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewsome/
Blog Articles: https://www.4cornerresources.com/blog
Today's job market headlines tell us how parents are rethinking the college to career path for their kids, and new data shows what employers say really matters in today's job market. But first, the hottest news in today's job market is that it's not hot at all. The October Joltz report came out this morning and it shows a labor market that isn't surging or collapsing. It's really just holding still. Let's look at the numbers. Job opening stayed at 7.7 million, which is unchanged from September. Hires were also stable, employers brought on 5.1 million workers, which is the same as the prior month, and no industries showed meaningful hiring shifts. Total separations also held at 5.1 million. Now quits, which is a metric everyone watches as a signal of worker confidence, held steady at $2.9 million, but over the past year, quits are down $276,000. This October report tells a clear story.
Pete Newsome:The labor market has cooled from its peak, but is now moving sideways rather than sliding down. It's just stability all around in openings, hires, and separations, but the big watch item for me is a decline in quits. Workers aren't job hopping like they were just a couple of years ago, and that means fewer competing offers and opportunities out there, more cautious decision making, and an overall shift in leverage back toward employers. And unfortunately, I don't expect that will change in the foreseeable future. In the next headline, parents are rethinking what the right path after high school looks like for their kids. American Student Assistants just published survey results showing families are increasingly open to non-degree pathways. Parents still prefer college overall, but not nearly as strongly as they used to. In 2019, 74% said it was their top choice. But in 2025, that number has fallen to 58%. One of the biggest changes is perception of career and technical education, or CTE.
Pete Newsome:In 2019, just 13% of parents thought CTE was a suitable path for high-achieving students. But in 2025, that number has jumped to 35%. Now, 89% see drawbacks to non-degree paths, especially limited career growth and opportunities and lower income potential. That makes sense. College is still generally considered the safer route, but I, for one, like seeing this evolution of the four-year degree. It should no longer be the default answer for all students. What we need is for the primary and secondary education system to catch up and focus on student aptitude and interest when providing guidance as the labor market continues to evolve. Because the degree still matters, but it's no longer all that matters. In fact, that is changing rapidly. And I love the way this report captures it, it just does it beautifully. And our final headline is further evidence of that changing or perhaps conflicting perspective. Most employers say degrees are important, but only about a third believe colleges are preparing students with the skills needed for today's workforce.
Pete Newsome:How's that for a contradiction? A new survey from Western Governors University reveals a hiring landscape undergoing a major realignment. Degrees, skills, certificates, demonstrated experience, and proof of ability are now working together as kind of a readiness portfolio. The data shows employers still value degrees. Experience continues to matter greatly. 78% of employers say work experience is equal to or more valuable than a degree. And 46% plan to increase their focus on skills-based hiring in the next year. It's safe to say that that has now become an undeniable trend. Here's what they say are the most important skills for the next 12 months: critical thinking and problem solving, time management, and adaptability and resilience. Those are also exactly the kinds of human capabilities AI can't easily replicate. However, AI skills are fast becoming a baseline requirement.
Pete Newsome:Nearly 50% of employers are assessing AI readiness in candidates through AI tools experience, AI certifications, or technical interviews. And some, as you can see on the chart, are still figuring it out. Overall, this report reflects what I'm seeing in the market. Employers are no longer using degrees as a gatekeeper for hiring. Instead, they're building a multidimensional picture. The degree plus skills plus experience plus proof of what the candidate can actually do. And they will weigh those differently depending on the opportunity and the specific hiring need. But the data point that jumps out the most for me is around certificates. 86% employer confidence in certificates. That is not a small trend, that's a structural shift. Certificates used to be a nice to have.
Pete Newsome:Now it's clear that they're validating skills in a way employers actually trust. So if you're a candidate, take advantage of that. So those are our headlines for today. But before we go, here's a fun fact. Hugh Jackman once worked as a party clown for kids. He went by the name Coco the Clown. And from what I read, he didn't know any magic. He was just a clown. Although I can't imagine him being bad at anything, but those he said he wasn't very good. I'm sure he was. So thank you for listening today. Please like, subscribe, share with anyone you think might be interested, and I'll look forward to talking to you tomorrow.