Cast your mind back to the first job you had. It may have been decades ago, or closer in time, but I bet you can still remember some of the tasks you did because no one else wanted to. Data entry, answering phones, transcribing, or learning the basic skills of the job from the ground up. However, a silent crisis is threatening these foundational experiences: early career positions appear to be vanishing, with little to replace them.
Let’s establish some of the facts first. There are currently fewer jobs available for workers who have recently graduated from university. The 2024 Graduate Outcomes Survey found that full-time employment for undergraduates fell from a high of 79 percent in 2023 to 74 percent last year. Meanwhile, graduates who worked part-time but wanted to add more hours increased from 14 percent to almost 18 percent over the last three years.
Rising Youth Unemployment and Global Trends
On a national scale, youth unemployment has been steadily increasing to 10.5 percent in September, the highest level since November 2021. The Jobs Availability Snapshot found that entry-level jobs had declined over the last decade and now accounted for less than 11 percent of all positions advertised last year. Globally, UNICEF surveyed over 53,000 young people from 184 countries for their ‘Time To Act’ report and found that traditional pathways into jobs are fading fast around the world.
“Are younger workers the canaries in the coalmine for how AI might affect all our future workplaces?”
Some of these trends are still fresh and questionable, and might not seem much in isolation, but once you start plotting them all together, they paint a bleak collective picture.
The Role of AI and Automation
There are several overlapping reasons for this displacement, such as economic uncertainty and changes in hiring practices, but the biggest issue is the rise of AI and automation. These technologies can perform many of the tasks traditionally done by entry-level workers. If we don’t address this now, it could easily snowball into a wider economy-sized problem.
Researchers at Stanford University recently concluded that the widespread adoption of generative AI has led to a 13 percent relative decline in employment for early career workers aged 22 to 25 in the most AI-exposed industries. These occupations include software developers, customer service representatives, accountants, receptionists, and administrative assistants—roles that involve repetitive tasks easily automated.
Addressing the Crisis: A Multi-Level Approach
So, what can be done about this? First, we need to talk about it openly, interrogating the causes instead of letting it silently erode our workforce. This issue needs to be addressed at three levels: businesses, government, and individuals.
Business Initiatives
Within companies, there needs to be an active cultivation of entry-level pathways into every industry. This might include formal graduate programs, internships, or apprenticeships, with a focused effort to ensure the next generation is not overlooked.
Government Policies
At a government level, economic incentives for businesses that hire entry-level staff could encourage participation. Higher education should prioritize real-world work placements and tighter industry collaboration so that undergraduates emerge fully equipped for the workplaces of tomorrow.
Individual Strategies
Individuals need to identify if they are at risk and proactively enhance their technology skills to complement rather than compete with automation. Planning for longer periods to find suitable employment and using every available avenue to secure a foothold in their chosen career is crucial.
The displacement crisis is serious but solvable, as long as we’re talking about it. If not, a whole new generation might have the first rung of the career ladder taken away before they’ve even had a chance to reach for it.
Tim Duggan is the author of Work Backwards: The Revolutionary Method to Work Smarter and Live Better. He writes a regular newsletter at timduggan.substack.com.
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