Young US graduates fear AI is shutting them out of entry-level jobs (opens the source in a new tab)
- In Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, the FT meets young graduates who say AI is closing the door to first jobs. A 2022 computer-science graduate says almost every interview now asks whether he is needed at all.
- Stanford research finds employment of software developers aged 22 to 25 down 19%, with customer service hit similarly, while jobs AI cannot do, such as health aides, are growing.
- There are no mass AI lay-offs yet; the squeeze is in hiring. One Lehigh student chose a master's degree over a job hunt to stay ahead of the machines.
- −19%
- Software developers aged 22–25
Why it matters The first AI casualty is not the job you have but the one you never get. Cut the bottom rung and a generation loses the training that turns graduates into seniors.
Other side Hiring freezes also follow rate rises and post-pandemic over-hiring, and the data show slower hiring, not firing. Earlier technology shifts also killed entry roles before creating new ones.