Entry-Level Job Displacements Across Industries – The US Perspective
A new study by Stanford has brought out a new perspective to the AI hype since the launch of Chat GPT in November 2022, which highlights that AI adoption is linked to decline in jobs for the young US workers.
The study found that employment among 22- to 25-year-olds across sectors has dropped by 13% since 2022 in jobs most affected by AI such as customer service representatives, accountants, and software developers.
These interesting statistics pushed me to look at the Standford’s research paper “Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of Artificial Intelligence”
Before getting into the six facts highlighted by the study, quick points to consider – The study has used data from ADP, the largest payroll processing firm in America which provides payroll services for firms employing over twenty-five million workers in the US. Also, the study excludes part-time employees.
The Six Facts
Now detailing out the six facts highlighted by the study:
Employment Decline for Young AI-Exposed Workers (the point which pushed me to read the report)
Workers aged 22–25 in AI-exposed jobs saw 13% lower employment than peers in less exposed jobs (controlling for firm effects).
This decline accelerated after late 2022, aligning with rapid GenAI adoption. This is clearly reflective in the chart from the report on the left which shows how employment has changed for software developers and customer service agents by age, normalized to 1 in October 2022.
Source: Canaries in the Coal Mine?
Older Workers Show Stability or Gains
Workers over twenty-five in AI-exposed jobs did not experience declines. The chart from the report on the left shows how employment has changed by age, across all occupations.
Between late 2022–mid 2025, employment for 22 to 25-year-olds in AI-exposed jobs fell ~6%, while older peers saw ~9% gains. Does this indicate tacit knowledge/experience shields them from automation risk.
One reason probably that the study checked specifically on the tech sector impact are the recent numbers that have been highlighted by Goldman Sachs, November 2022—when ChatGPT debuted—marked the peak of fresher employment in the US tech sector, which has since seen a downward trend. Notably, since the early 2024, the unemployment rate among 20- to 30-year-olds in the technology has climbed by nearly 3 percentage points which is over 4X the rise seen in the overall jobless rate. According to Goldman, this signals AI is starting to displace white-collar workers in entry-level roles.
Automation or Augmentation, it matters to younger workforce employment
Automation-prone jobs (e.g., coding, customer support) saw sharper declines.
Augmentation-prone jobs (where AI complements workers) remained steadier.
These changes are primarily driven by AI exposure and not any other structural changes, as effects hold even after controlling for:
Firm-time effects, with a 13% relative employment decline for young workers in the most exposed occupations.
Industry shocks
Remote vs. on-site roles
The study highlights that these shifts are reflective of employment levels rather than in wages/compensation
The negative impact on entry-level employment levels is driven by reduced intent to hiring, while pay levels remain stable.
Changes in annual base compensation by age and occupation
Annual base compensation deflated to 2017 dollars
Source: Canaries in the Coal Mine?
These shifts hold across various alternative sample constructions which includes:
A higher impact on the technology sector’s hiring due to Covid-19 – However, the charts below highlight that the negative impact on entry-level employment remains the same even when the technology sector is excluded from the analysis.
Employment changes by age in AI exposure sectors,
excluding firms in the information sector
Source: Canaries in the Coal Mine?
Remote Work: the study highlights that for young workers, more exposed occupations have slower employment growth, both in remote and non-remote occupations.
Changes in Education during Covid 19 – The study findings suggest that deteriorating education outcomes cannot fully explain the shifts.
Is India going through a similar trend?
Recent reports on hiring intent in India are reflective of a similar trend and shows a declining intent for hiring freshers.
According to India Skills Report 2025, the intent to hire freshers is lower than last year, with an average of 14% of all new hires expected to be freshers from across industries, compared to 18.8% in 2024.
How do we interpret this shift?
As the Stanford report highlights when new technologies enter the market, they don’t affect all workers in the same way. Some jobs shrink while new opportunities grow, and workers go through a transition period as they shift from old roles to emerging ones. We may already be seeing this with AI—for instance, fewer students in the US are choosing majors like computer science, which are more exposed to AI disruption.
History shows that big transitions, like the IT revolution, eventually boosted both jobs and wages, though the benefits were uneven. Whether AI follows the same path is still an open question. That is why keeping a close watch on employment trends is crucial. Going forward, having more detailed data on how companies are adopting AI will help us better understand its real impact on jobs. Thus, how the impact pans out is still something that we will have to see in the years to come to get to a conclusion.
However, one thing is clear that the entry-level talent for now is facing challenges in the current scenario, and this impact goes beyond the tech sector to all major industries as well. Does this mean the talent coming out of colleges in not suited to the new age AI world? We will try to answer this question in my next blog which will focus on what academia need to focus on as we move into an AI-first model.
Do share your thoughts in the comments.
References –
Stanford report – “Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of Artificial Intelligence”
India Skills Report 2025
CNBC
The Atlantic
Indian Express