Entry-level job postings have plummeted 35% since 2023. The reason: AI is accelerating a structural shift that could lock young workers out of career advancement.
Recent college graduates are facing a job market unlike anything previous generations encountered. Entry-level positions, once the reliable gateway to career building, have become scarce. Research firm Revelio Labs found that entry-level job listings have dropped 35% since 2023, a decline so steep that even Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has acknowledged the struggle young people face.
The mechanics of this disruption are straightforward but consequential. AI excels at automating the narrow, predictable, tactical tasks that junior workers typically perform. A legal team at a major bank, for example, shrank from hundreds of employees to a handful plus an AI-powered database.
When companies adopt automation, they don't necessarily eliminate jobs entirely; they eliminate the need for as many people to do the work. If a company had 100 junior workers handling routine tasks and AI can handle most of that work, suddenly they only need 10. The problem is that those eliminated positions were the training ground for tomorrow's experienced workers. This is a real thing we've seen, with 3 in 10 companies planning AI-driven job cuts.
We also analyzed the sentiment of workers across social media on this same topic. Commenters and industry experts highlight a paradox in how this is unfolding. While sectors like tech, financial services, and consulting continue to grow and post strong revenue numbers, they've simultaneously cut back on hiring entry-level workers.
This "lean growth" model decouples output from employment, creating what some describe as an emerging crisis. Commenters have expressed concern that this isn't a cyclical downturn but a structural change that could permanently strand young workers at the starting line.
The community has also pointed to deeper issues: companies prioritizing short-term efficiency gains over long-term workforce development, a preference for experienced workers who need no training, and the timing of AI's emergence just as businesses were already seeking to reduce costs.
Yet the conversation reveals nuance beyond simple AI-blame narratives. Some observers note that multiple forces are converging: the pandemic forced white-collar industries to operate leaner, the Great Resignation shifted hiring preferences toward experienced talent, and a glut of college graduates has flooded the market.
And there haven't been enough workers bothering to learn AI. AI, in this view, is an accelerant rather than the sole cause. Still, commenters emphasize a critical concern: if entry-level roles disappear, the talent pipeline itself breaks.
Without early career opportunities, there's no pathway for young workers to gain the experience that senior roles demand. The long-term implications extend beyond unemployment statistics to affect career trajectories, financial stability, and personal well-being for years to come. And they're bracing for more. After all, the tech industry is facing steep job cuts.
For young workers navigating this landscape, the consensus among observers suggests adaptation rather than resignation. Mastering AI tools, developing uniquely human skills that automation cannot replicate, and understanding business strategy beyond task execution have emerged as potential differentiators.
The challenge remains urgent: recent graduates need solutions now, not frameworks developed years from now. Whether companies will adjust their hiring practices to rebuild the entry-level pipeline, or whether young workers will need to forge entirely new paths into the workforce, remains one of the defining questions for the economy ahead.
