AI and remote work impact entry-level job market for graduates

Recent college graduates are facing a challenging job market, with the unemployment rate for those aged 22 to 27 reaching 5.7% in June, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. A ZipRecruiter survey indicates that 47% of graduates believe artificial intelligence has already impacted hiring within their respective fields.

Economists offer differing perspectives on the cause of this trend. Stanford University economist Erik Brynjolfsson notes that since the emergence of large language models in late 2022, early-career workers in AI-exposed roles, such as software developers and marketing managers, have seen a 16% relative decline in employment. However, Harvard University economist David Deming suggests that the decline in junior hiring may be linked to the rise of remote work rather than AI, noting that hiring drops began shortly before the release of ChatGPT.

As the workplace evolves, educational institutions are facing pressure to adapt. Experts suggest that universities must move beyond teaching basic AI prompting to focus on AI literacy, which includes teaching students how to verify, question, and exercise judgment over automated outputs.