AI and super Intelligence are causing quite a stir amongst fresh graduates but AI is not closing the door to work. What it is beginning to do is wipe out the tasks companies would usually hand to juniors. Reviewing drafts, data clean-up, ticket triage, document review, these are exactly the tasks AI now does in seconds. So the entry-level role survives on the org chart, but the reason to hire someone into it gets weaker and interviewing with these skill sets is now nearly null and void.
This is a slow problem with a sharp edge. A firm that stops hiring juniors saves money this year but has no mid-level talent in five. Is the answer to keep hiring just to have a foundation level workforce or do organisations need to re-think the hierarchal structure of a company? These are questions facing every C Suite and management team today.
What does the evidence show?
Young workers in exposed jobs are losing ground. Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen (Stanford, August 2025) used ADP payroll records and found a 13% relative employment decline for 22- to 25-year-olds in the most AI-exposed occupations. Experienced workers in the same occupations were stable or growing.
The hit comes through hiring, not pay. The same study found adjustment came through fewer jobs rather than lower wages. The losses clustered where AI automates work, not where it helps people do it.
The overall graduate market is still hiring. NACE’s Job Outlook 2026 spring update found US employers expect to hire 5.6% more new graduates than last year. However, the skills bar is rising and the education system will need to factor this into their business and related syllabus to keep up with new demands.
13.3% of entry-level postings now ask for AI skills. This is sure to rise even higher.
What should employers do?
- Keep a junior intake, on purpose. Treat it as succession planning, not a cost line.
- Redesign the first year. If AI does the drafting, juniors should be checking, questioning and presenting it, with a named senior reviewing their judgement.
- Hire on demonstrated skill. Ask candidates to show how they would check an AI output, not just produce one.
FAQ
Are graduate jobs disappearing because of AI? Not across the board. Total graduate hiring in the US is forecast to rise in 2026, but young workers in the most AI-exposed occupations have lost ground relative to peers.
Which entry-level jobs are most affected? The Stanford study found the sharpest declines in occupations where AI automates tasks, such as software development and customer service. Roles where AI assists rather than replaces held up better.
Do entry-level jobs now need AI skills? Increasingly. About one in eight US entry-level postings now lists AI skills, and that share nearly tripled in under a year.
What happens if companies stop hiring juniors? They lose their future mid-level and senior talent. Skills that used to be learned on the job have to come from somewhere.
You can check your AI Job exposure in the Future of Work quiz here.
