Artificial intelligence could upend entry-level work as recent college graduates enter the job market, eliminating many positions at the bottom of the white-collar career ladder or at least reshaping them, some experts told ABC News.
Analysts who spoke to ABC News said AI could replace or reorient entry-level jobs in some white-collar fields targeted by college graduates, such as computer programming and law.
“I sympathize with college graduates.
Over the early months of 2025, the job market for recent college graduates “deteriorated noticeably,” the New York Federal Reserve said in April.
The unemployment rate for recent college graduates reached 5.8%, its highest level since 2021, while the underemployment rate soared above 40%, the New York Fed said.
As new college graduates join the workforce, artificial intelligence may disrupt entry-level jobs, displacing or at least changing many entry-level white-collar jobs, some experts told ABC News.
Following years of development in AI-powered chatbots and statements made by certain business leaders regarding the beginning of AI automation, these projections are made.
Last week, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told Axios that technology could save U.S. A. within five years, cutting entry-level positions in half.
CEO Barbara Ping stated that Business Insider would “go all in on AI” in an attempt to “scale and operate more efficiently” when the company laid off 21% of its employees last week. “,”.
According to analysts who spoke to ABC News, AI may displace or reshape entry-level positions in certain white-collar professions that college graduates are drawn to, like law and computer programming.
They went on to say that economic factors other than technology are probably to blame for this generation’s current employment problems. They stated that many manual labor and blue-collar jobs will not be significantly affected by AI, and that young, tech-savvy workers might be the most qualified to fill new positions that do use AI.
“We’re in the flux of dramatic change,” said Lynn Wu, a University of Pennsylvania professor of operations, information, and decisions. “I feel sorry for recent college graduates. They might spend some time with their parents in the near future. However, they will be alright in the long run. They’re native to AI. “.
The New York Federal Reserve stated in April that the employment situation for recent college graduates “deteriorated noticeably” in the first few months of 2025. It didn’t explain why the trend occurred.
The New York Fed reported that the underemployment rate surged above 40 percent and the unemployment rate for recent college graduates hit 5point 8 percent, its highest level since 2021.
The McKinsey Global Institute’s head of labor market research, Anu Madgavkar, told ABC News that trends in the overall economy are more likely to be the cause of youth unemployment than artificial intelligence.
The business uncertainty and pessimistic economic projections prompted by President Donald Trump’s tariff policy coincide with the softening job market.
Madgavkar stated, “It’s not surprising we’re seeing this unemployment for young people,”. “A lot of economic uncertainty exists. “..”.
However, analysts noted that AI poses a significant threat to entry-level jobs in white-collar occupations due to its ability to perform computational and written tasks instead of manual labor.
AI could replace tasks that were previously completed by entry-level workers, like computer programmers writing simple code or legal assistants gathering pertinent precedent for a case, according to Madgavkar.
“Is the first or bleeding edge type of work to be hit a little more skewed toward entry-level, more basic work getting automated right now? That’s probably true,” asked Madgavkar. “There could be fewer individuals gaining traction. “,”.
Wu stated quite plainly: “The main issue is that the career ladder is being disrupted. “.
However, Madgavkar stated that entry-level jobs would mostly shift rather than vanish. She added that managers will value analysis and problem-solving skills over work requiring only physical effort, and that using AI will probably be part of the necessary skill set.
“I don’t think it means we’ll have no demand for entry-level workers or massively less demand,” Madgavakar stated. “I simply believe there will be a rapid increase in the expectations for young people to use these tools. “.”.
According to analysts, some occupations and tasks are still largely immune to AI automation. These include manual labor and trades, as well as professional positions like upper management and medicine.
Isabella Loaiza, a researcher for AI and the workforce at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, co-authored a study that looked at how jobs and tasks are changing in the United States. S. . economy from 2016 through 2024.
Instead of replacing skills like empathy and critical thinking, workplace technology increased the demand for workers with those skills, according to Loaiza, who cited the need for early education teachers, home health aides, and therapists.
Loaiza acknowledged that rather than affecting more blue-collar jobs, AI is now affecting white-collar jobs.
However, we discovered that jobs that require a lot of human interaction are likely more resilient,” she continued. “,”.
