AI Cuts Young Workers’ Entry-Level Employment 19% in Exposed Jobs
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Oct 25
AI Cuts Young Workers’ Entry-Level Employment 19% in Exposed Jobs
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Oct 25
Summary
Stanford data show employment for 22-25-year-olds in AI-exposed occupations is 19% below where it would be if it had kept pace with less-affected jobs, hitting fields such as software development and customer service.
That drop reflects companies using AI to absorb work once handled by junior staff, even as broad AI-driven layoffs have not yet materialized and many employers are still unsure how roles will be restructured.
Young graduates in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley described a job market with fewer interviews, weak response rates and pressure to stay in school longer or shift toward people-facing roles less vulnerable to automation.
The contrast is widening across occupations: younger health aides have seen employment rise 22% and stock clerks 6%, while warnings from Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and others suggest the current squeeze could spread further.