AI's Impact on Gen Z's Career Prospects: Reshaping Entry-Level Job Market

AI Is Destroying Gen Z's Chances at a Stable Career

In 1986, an inventor named David Humble rolled out the first self-checkout machine to a Kroger outside of Atlanta. It was a watershed moment for shop owners at the time, who hoped to "increase store profits" and "alleviate labor shortages" -- another way to say "avoid hiring workers above the national minimum wage," which was then $3.35 per hour, and just $7.25 today. Fast forward 39 years, and self-checkout has taken the world by storm. Today, there are over 217,000 self-checkout terminals installed throughout the world, a technology which labor experts estimate eliminates 35 to 40 percent of entry-level retail jobs within 12 months of operation in any given store. But with constant outages, unsettling surveillance schemes, and millions of unexpected items in the bagging area, who really benefits from all this tech? That's a question Gen Z is being forced to grapple with in an imminent way. Not just with self-checkout, but with the explosive growth of artificial intelligence over the years they're entering -- or at least attempting to enter -- the labor force. A recent report by the Oxford Economics Group found that unemployment rates among recent college grads in the US are rising, suggesting that "entry-level positions are being displaced by artificial intelligence at higher rates." Among 22 to 27 year olds, work in STEM industries like computer science is down 8 percent from 2022, signaling a major disruption in labor market norms. "Recent and experienced college graduate unemployment rates have always been lower than the national average, until now," the report reads. While there's always been a gap in employment as young college grads search for their first "real job," the number now struggling to find work is growing faster than unemployment overall, suggesting that "entry-level positions have become harder to find." That's a view shared by LinkedIn executive Aneesh Raman, who recently penned an op-ed about artificial intelligence and the entry-level job market. "Breaking first is the bottom rung of the career ladder," Raman said. He points to tech as a key example, where simple coding and debugging tasks -- once the proving ground for junior software engineers -- have rapidly become automated by AI, despite some major shortcomings with the tech. Other disruptions can be found in big law, where entry-level clerical work is being handed over to AI, and retail jobs, where AI chatbots take on the friction of customer service, to the annoyance of pretty much everyone. While these upsets may seem isolated to specialized industries compared to US labor overall, the job market is a tightly wound ecosystem, and Raman notes the potential for ruffles in white collar labor to make huge waves across the country. "If entry-level roles evaporate, those lacking elite networks or privileged backgrounds will face even steeper barriers to finding their footing in the workplace," the LinkedIn executive wrote. "Plus, the fallout from large-scale economic shifts ripples through entire communities. When manufacturing jobs vanished across America's heartland, the result wasn't just lost income, but also social and political upheaval." Whether or not AI is ready to take on the jobs typically given to early-career college grads is a whole different story. Many preliminary reports suggest the tech's actual capabilities are far behind the typical narrative of an AI-dominated labor market. That's a story typically fed to us from executives and tech industry moguls. Raman notes that, in a LinkedIn survey of over 3,000 corporate bigwigs, "63 percent agreed that AI will eventually take on some of the mundane tasks" that usually go to entry-level associates. There's reason to believe these buzzy tales of AI "innovation" and "workplace paradigm shifts" are really just cover for broader -- and more perfidious -- trends in the labor market, such as the "gigification" of labor. Meanwhile, researchers and labor organizers are sounding the alarm that the most vulnerable among us -- not just entry-level, but minority, immigrant, and elderly workers -- will be among the first to feel the rungs break as the "AI revolution" barrels on.

How AI is Hurting Gen-Z's Job Prospects, and What Your Company Can Do About It

This disruptive, innovative new technology is impacting Gen-Z workers in a few ways, and may be harming their future job prospects. The trend has bigger implications, since it could dramatically reshape the future of pretty much any company seeking bright, new talent fresh out of college. In a recent New York Times op-ed, LinkedIn's chief economic opportunity officer, Aneesh Raman warned that AI directly threatens some entry-level jobs. This resonates with other reports showing how capable AI systems are becoming at performing many workplace tasks done by humans, with the loss of coding jobs as a leading example that other industry sectors are starting to follow. Other experts increasingly suggest that entry-level workers need to upskill or reskill as AI takes on some mundane office tasks. The downside of this high-tech powered efficiency, Raman pointed out, is that these kinds of entry-level jobs have long served as stepping stones for brand new workers just starting their careers. These jobs are crucial opportunities for helping young workers find their feet in the workplace. Raman compared the disruption of AI in workplace norms with the dramatic upheavals caused by the decline of manufacturing work in the 1980s, Fortune said. He also noted that college graduates are looking at a job market where unemployment rates among their cohort are rising faster than for other workers.

AI Is Gutting Entry-Level Jobs And Gen Z Is Paying The Price, Warns LinkedIn's Aneesh Raman

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter LinkedIn's chief economic opportunity officer, Aneesh Raman, has issued an alarming warning about the impact of artificial intelligence on entry-level jobs. He outlined how AI is rapidly transforming entry-level work, leaving Gen Z job seekers at risk. What Happened: In an op-ed for the New York Times, Raman describes how roles for junior software engineers, paralegals and retail associates, which were once meant to train newcomers, are being delegated to AI tools. "Breaking first is the bottom rung of the career ladder," Raman writes. AI technology is being used to complete basic tasks like debugging code, reviewing documents, and managing customer support in minutes. According to him, sectors like finance, law, hospitality, and professional services are witnessing their entry-level roles transformed by automation, just as the unemployment rate for college graduates has risen to 30 percent since 2022, outpacing the general population. This is even though 40% of Gen Z workers are "willing to switch jobs and even take a 2 to 5% pay cut if they were given more opportunities to advance," according to LinkedIn research. See Also: Unprecedented Demand For Nvidia's GB200 Drives Accelerated Production: 'Taiwan Engineers Are Working Incredibly Hard,' Says Expert Why It Matters: "Young adults who experience six months of unemployment at age 22 can expect to earn approximately $22,000 less over the next decade," Raman writes. Without meaningful entry points into the industries of their choice, Gen Z workers without insider connections will confront even higher barriers. The ripple effects, he says, will be felt throughout society: "When manufacturing jobs vanished across America's heartland, the result wasn't just lost income but also social and political upheaval." In Raman's view, efforts to upgrade curricula, like American University's AI-integrated business program and a new national community college consortium backed by Intel and Microsoft, might be a way to tackle this growing problem. On the role of the companies, he says: "They need to redesign entry-level jobs that give workers higher-level tasks that add value beyond what can be produced by A.I.," referring to KPMG and Macfarlanes as examples, where new grads are being assigned sophisticated tasks, leveraging AI as a tool instead of a threat. Raman's warning comes on the heels of Microsoft's decision to reduce 6000 jobs globally, after CEO Satya Nadella indicated that AI now writes upto 30% of the company's code. Read Next: Russia's President Targets Microsoft And Zoom, Calls For Crackdown On Foreign Tech Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs