Graduating is \ufeff\u2013 almost universally \ufeff\u2013 a humbling experience.\u00a0But it\u2019s been particularly so for the class of 2025. Entry-level job vacancies in the UK have slumped to their lowest since 2018, according to recruit\ufeffment platform Adzuna, prompting \u201crecord competition\u201d.<\/p>\n
Last year in the UK there were an average of 140 applications per graduate job. In the US, big tech\u2019s grad-hiring has dropped by a quarter since 2023.<\/p>\n
Some graduates blame artificial intelligence (AI). They talk of declining vacancies at the \ufeff\u201cbig four\u201d accountanc\ufeffy firms, where entry-level roles are down 11-29% this year. Reddit threads swarm with graduates voicing concerns.<\/p>\n
The fear is that AI is now capable of repetitive tasks such as data cleaning, draft writing, and admin \ufeff\u2013 long seen as professional rites of passage. Some HR managers admit they prefer using\u00a0AI to graduates for so-called grunt work.<\/p>\n
Gen Z is taking note: 1 in 10 British students have switched degrees to pre-empt AI, according to a Prospects survey of 4,000 respondents. Meanwhile, universities are racing to introduce AI literacy courses and rethink how to teach skills that AI can\u2019t replicate. Early careerists are being urged to get smart and AI-native, and self-proclaimed \ufeffluddites are calling for policymakers to intervene.<\/p>\n
The broader labour market has seen a downturn, too, but the drop in entry-level openings is particularly stark. US data shows that joblessness among recent young graduates \ufeff\u2013 reaching 5.8% in March \ufeff\u2013 has crept above the national rate. That is unusual in itself, and now at its most extreme in more than three decades. Europe looks set to follow.<\/p>\n
Yet economists such as Carl-Benedikt Frey at the Oxford Martin School aren\u2019t convinced that AI is the prime culprit. He points instead to inflation, interest rates, wage pressures\ufeff and lingering post-pandemic uncertainty. In reality, there\u2019s no \u201cdefinitive evidence that AI is the reason for the shaky entry-level job market\ufeff\u201d, as one LinkedIn exec recently conceded. At least not yet.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not unusual for young people to bear the brunt of economic slowdowns and hiring slumps. Graduate unemployment also spiked during Covid and post-2008.<\/p>\n
Cuts at major consultancies are often linked to economic downturns. Fluctuations in intake sizes are normal, with hiring based on demand. A UK bank executive added that over-hiring during Covid is also at play. Privately, several firms admit they simply can\u2019t afford big intakes at the moment.<\/p>\n
Graduate Oliver Partridge goes further, arguing the real problem is a broken education system causing oversupply.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone and their mum has a higher qualification now,\u201d says Partridge, 22, who recently completed a journalism master\ufeff\u2019s. \u201cEmployers want tangible experience \ufeffover any type of qualification.\u201d<\/p>\n
Partridge notes that graduates are \u201csold a dream\u201d that university will lead to a job, but in fact \u201cgetting a\u00a0degree just qualifies you for the race\ufeff\u201d. He added: \u201cAt my uni, it was difficult to find anyone who thought about life afterwards. I was one of\u00a0them.\ufeff\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, 30% of Brits now have a\u00a0degree, up from 19% in the 1990s. More graduates mean fiercer competition for a limited pool of roles.<\/p>\n
In short, AI is part of a confluence of headwinds that\u2019s been swirling for\u00a0years.<\/p>\n
Still, experts concede \ufeffthat white-collar roles, such as \ufeffanalysts\ufeff, and industries \ufefflike IT, \ufeffwill be irrevocably changed by AI. CEOs at large tech firms also acknowledge that efficiency gains will reduce their workforce, and\u00a0plan to invest more than $300\ufeffb\ufeffn into AI this year.<\/p>\n
In the longer term, though, this could offer an opportunity for young workers. A study from the M\ufeffI\ufeffT\ufeff Sloan School of Management of call-centre agents found that workers \u201cwith less experience\u201d see the biggest productivity gains from AI. In theory, that means graduates could be given\u00a0more interesting, challenging work off the bat while AI takes on\u00a0more mundane tasks. For employers, it offers a turbocharged 22-year-old.<\/p>\n
AI could then redefine what first jobs look like \ufeff\u2013 at least\ufeff for the lucky graduates who can land one.<\/p>\n
Photograph by\u00a0Dinendra Haria, SOPA Images via Getty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Graduating is \ufeff\u2013 almost universally \ufeff\u2013 a humbling experience.\u00a0But it\u2019s been particularly so for the class of 2025.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[28,134],"class_list":{"0":"post-7032","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-jobs"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7032","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=7032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}