How’s the labor market look for Iowa graduates?

In this May 5, 2018, file photo, graduates at the University of Toledo commencement ceremony in Toledo, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

By Amie Rivers

May 8, 2025

Happy graduation month to Iowa’s newest high school and college graduates!

Though they’re graduating into a strong labor market—teens and young 20-somethings have had higher wage growth since 2020, and are more employed than other age groups—Trump’s attacks on the federal workforce, apprenticeships, and higher education, plus tariffs that threaten to increase prices on everything, could erase those gains.

And we won’t even mention student loans.

It’s all part of what Michael Podhorzer calls Trump’s “War on Working People,” which has included mass firings and hiring freezes on the federal workforce, eliminating policies and entire labor departments tasked with helping workers organize and stay safe on the job, and even eliminating a raise in wages for federal contractors.

But workers are fighting back. Unions are filing lawsuits and workers are organizing protests and town halls to raise awareness.

Per Podhorzer:

“Trump’s orchestrated attack on unions and civil service institutions exposes a deliberate strategy aimed at consolidating authoritarian power by eroding the economic and social foundations upon which democracy rests,” he writes. “Recognizing and resisting these attacks, as previous generations have, as increasing numbers of people are doing today, remains essential to safeguarding democratic governance and shared prosperity.”

Are you graduating, or know someone who is? What are your/their concerns about graduating into this economy? Email us.

Amie Rivers

Amie Rivers is Iowa Starting Line's newsletter editor. She writes the weekly Worker’s Almanac edition of Iowa Starting Line, featuring a roundup of the worker news you need to know. Previously, she was an award-winning journalist at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier; now, she very much enjoys making TikToks and memes and getting pet photos in her inbox.

Have a story tip? Reach Amie at [email protected]. For local reporting in Iowa that connects the dots, from policy to people, sign up for Amie's newsletter.

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CATEGORIES: LABOR

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