Entry-Level Jobs Displaced, New Opportunities Emerge

A recent study indicates that artificial intelligence is displacing entry-level workers, particularly those whose tasks can be performed by generative AI tools. The study found a 13% decrease in employment for early-career employees in AI-exposed fields since 2022, compared to more experienced workers in the same fields and those in sectors less affected by the technology.

The research suggests that the spread of generative AI is likely to disrupt the job market, especially for younger workers. The knowledge base of these large language models overlaps significantly with the knowledge that young people acquire before entering the job market.

The study highlights software engineering and customer service as fields where AI appears to be replacing young workers. Entry-level employment in these areas declined by roughly 20% between late 2022 and July 2025, while employment for older workers in the same jobs grew. Overall, employment for workers aged 22 to 25 in the most AI-exposed sectors dropped 6% during the study period.

Older employees, with more experience, often possess communication and "soft" skills that are harder to replicate with AI. They also have tacit knowledge gained through experience, which is not readily available to AI models.

The study used data from ADP, which provides payroll processing services to employers with a combined 25 million workers, to track employment changes. The data included detailed information on workers, including their ages, and precise job titles.

AI is expected to render some jobs obsolete while creating new ones. This is a pattern seen with past technological advancements. For example, in fields like nursing, AI may augment human workers by taking over rote tasks, allowing healthcare practitioners to focus on patients.

While entry-level employment has fallen in professions most exposed to AI, no such decline has occurred in jobs where employers are using these tools to support and expand what employees do. Workers who use AI to augment their work are benefiting.

Workers who can effectively use AI to improve their job performance will be best positioned for success in the current labor market. Starting salaries for entry-level AI workers have increased. Young workers who learn to use AI effectively can be much more productive.