{"id":310772,"date":"2025-11-24T12:13:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T12:13:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/310772\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T12:13:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T12:13:48","slug":"unemployment-could-hit-25-among-recent-grads-and-trigger-unprecedented-social-disruption-thanks-to-ai-u-s-senator-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/310772\/","title":{"rendered":"Unemployment could hit 25% among recent grads and trigger &#8216;unprecedented&#8217; social disruption thanks to AI, U.S. senator warns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Job <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/08\/08\/ai-layoffs-jobs-market-shrinks-entry-level\/\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/08\/08\/ai-layoffs-jobs-market-shrinks-entry-level\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">postings are down<\/a>, and unemployment among recent graduates has climbed to 9.3%, according to the <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/CGRA2024\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/CGRA2024\">Federal Reserve<\/a>\u2014its highest level outside of the pandemic since 2014.<\/p>\n<p>But one lawmaker says this may only be the beginning.<\/p>\n<p>Unemployment for recent college graduates could surge to as high as 25% in the next two to three years, warned U.S. Senator <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/fortune.com\/2021\/11\/16\/mark-warner-china-economic-competitive-threat\/\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2021\/11\/16\/mark-warner-china-economic-competitive-threat\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mark Warner<\/a> (D-Va.) in an interview with <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-11-17\/ai-risks-leaving-25-of-new-college-grads-jobless-senator-says\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-11-17\/ai-risks-leaving-25-of-new-college-grads-jobless-senator-says\">Bloomberg<\/a>, and it could cause a \u201clevel of social disruption that\u2019s unprecedented.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we eliminate that front end of the pipeline, how are people ever going to get to that mid-career spot?\u201d Warner added to <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Hoz8F08aB5I\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Hoz8F08aB5I\">CNBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For Warner\u2019s part, he\u2019s said he\u2019s working on a job retraining program\u2014and wants AI companies, which he argues are contributing to the disruption, to cover most of the costs. He also partnered across the aisle with <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/fortune.com\/2024\/02\/29\/china-ev-electric-cars-import-tariff-josh-hawley-byd-mexico\/\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2024\/02\/29\/china-ev-electric-cars-import-tariff-josh-hawley-byd-mexico\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Josh Hawley<\/a> (R-Mo.) to introduce a <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.hawley.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AI-Related-Job-Impacts-Clarity-Act.pdf\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hawley.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AI-Related-Job-Impacts-Clarity-Act.pdf\">bill<\/a> requiring major companies and federal agencies to report any AI-related job effects, including layoffs and displacement, to the Department of Labor\u2014which would publish results to Congress and the public.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArtificial intelligence is already replacing American workers, and experts project AI could drive unemployment up to 10-20% in the next five years,\u201d <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.hawley.senate.gov\/hawley-warner-to-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-revealing-number-of-jobs-lost-to-ai\/\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hawley.senate.gov\/hawley-warner-to-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-revealing-number-of-jobs-lost-to-ai\/\">said<\/a> Hawley in a press release. \u201cThe American people need to have an accurate understanding of how AI is affecting our workforce, so we can ensure that AI works for the people, not the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Warner said he does believe AI will create new jobs in the long term, he warned that the transition period could create significant economic pain if Congress fails to act.<\/p>\n<p>Fortune reached out to Warner\u2019s office for further comment.<\/p>\n<p>AI could eliminate 100 million jobs, one senator predicts<\/p>\n<p>Beyond entry-level work, lawmakers have also sounded the alarm that AI could lead to massive job disruption across all forms of work.<\/p>\n<p>A report released last month from Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) predicted that tech automation could result in the <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/10\/07\/100-million-jobs-at-risk-of-elimination-senator-bernie-sanders-report-ai-kill-40-hour-workweek\/\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/10\/07\/100-million-jobs-at-risk-of-elimination-senator-bernie-sanders-report-ai-kill-40-hour-workweek\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">elimination of nearly 100 million jobs<\/a> in the U.S., with roles in fast food, customer service, and labor facing the most disruption. High-skilled jobs like accounting, software development, and nursing could also see significant cuts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not just economics,\u201d Sanders wrote in an <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/sen-sanders-ai-benefit-everyone-not-just-handful-billionaires\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/sen-sanders-ai-benefit-everyone-not-just-handful-billionaires\">op-ed for Fox News<\/a>. \u201cWork, whether being a janitor or a brain surgeon, is an integral part of being human. The vast majority of people want to be productive members of society and contribute to their communities. What happens when that vital aspect of human existence is removed from our lives?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s still unclear how Capitol Hill will ultimately address AI\u2019s economic impact, but Warner cast doubt that lawmakers will agree on any meaningful legislation when it comes to <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/09\/30\/california-landmark-ai-safety-law-sb-53-newsom-signs-silicon-valley-protect-whistleblowers\/\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/09\/30\/california-landmark-ai-safety-law-sb-53-newsom-signs-silicon-valley-protect-whistleblowers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AI safety<\/a>, despite multiple congressional hearings on the topic.<\/p>\n<p>Complicating matters further, the Trump administration is <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/urgent-trump-considering-executive-order-preempt-state-ai-laws-2025-11-19\/\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/urgent-trump-considering-executive-order-preempt-state-ai-laws-2025-11-19\/\">reportedly<\/a> considering an executive order that would preemptively block states from regulating AI.<\/p>\n<p>Warner warned that doing so would all but guarantee federal inaction: \u201cIf we take away the pressure from the states, Congress will never act,\u201d he told CNBC. \u201cLet\u2019s look at the fact we never did anything on social media. If we make that same response on AI and don\u2019t put guardrails, I think we will come to rue that day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Job postings are down, and unemployment among recent graduates has climbed to 9.3%, according to the Federal Reserve\u2014its&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[182,76377,181,507,525,1340,153,134,14488,74,32042,21212,3079,6073],"class_list":["post-310772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-american-politics","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-careers","tag-congress","tag-gen-z","tag-jobs","tag-students","tag-technology","tag-the-future-of-work","tag-u-s-politics","tag-u-s-senate","tag-u-s-workers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}