According to the Wall Street Journal, the rise of AI is reshaping the job market for recent college graduates, as companies increasingly rely on AI to perform tasks once assigned to entry-level employees, leading to a potential long-term impact on the workforce.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the transition from college to the workforce has always been challenging, but for the class of 2023 and beyond, AI is making that leap even steeper. Traditionally, entry-level jobs have served as the training ground for young professionals, offering them a chance to learn the ropes while handling the grunt work. Today, however, many of those tasks are being automated by AI tools like ChatGPT, leaving new graduates to compete for a shrinking pool of positions.
According to data from the Burning Glass Institute, the share of graduates in the labor force with a bachelor’s degree one year after graduation has dropped, deviating from historical patterns. The decline is not limited to a specific field — majors ranging from visual arts to engineering are feeling the pinch. Unemployment among recent college graduates is rising faster than for those with only a high school diploma or associate’s degree.
Employers are openly acknowledging the shift. At Chicago-based Hirewell, marketing clients have largely stopped requesting entry-level staff, opting instead for AI solutions. “Having a good job ‘guaranteed’ after college — I don’t think that’s an absolute truth today any more,” said Bill Balderaz, CEO of consulting firm Futurety, who chose not to hire a summer intern this year, preferring to use AI for social media tasks.
The impact is especially pronounced in sectors like information, finance, insurance, and technical services. These industries are still growing, but they’re hiring fewer inexperienced workers, focusing instead on seasoned professionals. Matt Sigelman, president of Burning Glass, described this as a “tectonic shift,” with employers more likely to let go of entry-level workers and increase hiring of experienced staff.
Tech companies are leading the trend. A report from venture-capital firm SignalFire found that among the 15 largest tech firms, the share of entry-level hires relative to total new hires has fallen by 50 percent since 2019. In 2024, only seven percent of new hires were recent graduates, down from 11 percent in 2022. Companies are shrinking teams, reducing graduate programs, and rapidly adopting AI.
For graduates, the competition is fierce. Not only are there fewer jobs, but they’re also up against laid-off junior workers from previous years. Platforms like Handshake report a 15 percent drop in entry-level job postings this year, while applications per job are up 30 percent. Internships are following a similar pattern.
The consequences extend beyond individual job seekers. As companies rely more on AI and hire fewer young workers, they risk shrinking the pipeline of talent that will eventually move into higher-level positions. Chris Ernst, chief learning officer at Workday, notes that much of what employees learn comes from hands-on experience. “Genuine learning, growth, adaptation — it comes from doing the hard work,” he said. With AI handling more of that work, companies are rethinking how to train new hires, shifting toward intentional mentoring and structured onboarding programs.
Some firms, like the investment company Carlyle, are adapting by training junior hires in AI best practices rather than traditional grunt work. Still, the bar for entry-level roles is rising. Companies now expect new hires to have critical thinking skills and the ability to work alongside AI, rather than simply perform repetitive tasks.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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