So far, the long-fear AI job-apocalypse has been little more than smoke and mirrors, with one gigantic exception: entry-level tech workers.
According to a new report on New York City jobs data compiled by the nonprofit Center for an Urban Future — first reported by the City — job postings for entry-level roles in “computer and mathematical” occupations has plummeted by 49 percent since 2022, the latest indication that tech firms are using AI to justify a massive slowdown in new hires.
Though computer science grads are bearing the brunt of the mayhem, tech jobs may just be the first domino to fall. As Urban Future’s executive director Jon Bowles told the City, “entry-level postings” overall have “fallen off a cliff, and the first rung of the ladder in tech is under pressure.”
“For many years, these were amazing opportunities for people getting a job because tech was growing so fast and adding so many entry-level jobs,” Bowles continued. “Those positions for young people with limited experience are harder to come by and there is intense competition.”
Other industries with drastically lower entry-level hiring include roles in office and administrative support; financial operations; arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; and roles in education and libraries, among others.
While AI is the most obvious variable at play here, there are many other factors helping contribute to a decline in entry-level job postings. For one thing, tech companies have been slashing jobs left and right to reverse COVID-era overhiring, coinciding with the rise of generative AI.
The Urban Future findings also come amidst a rapidly decaying job market in the US, with nearly a quarter of the US labor force functionally unemployed as of July.
All told, AI certainly isn’t improving things, but if we were to shut down every AI chatbot tomorrow, it’s highly unlikely that entry level jobs would rebound on their own.
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