Artificial intelligence could upend entry-level work as recent college graduates enter the job market, eliminating many positions at the bottom of the white-collar career ladder or at least reshaping them, some experts told ABC News.
Such forecasts follow yearslong advances in AI-fueled chatbots, and declarations from some company executives about the onset of AI automation.
Analysts who spoke to ABC News said AI could replace or reorient entry-level jobs in some white-collar fields targeted by college graduates, such as computer programming and law.
Many blue-collar and other hands-on jobs will remain largely untouched by AI, they said, noting that tech-savvy young workers may be best positioned to fill new jobs that do incorporate AI.
Over the early months of 2025, the job market for recent college graduates “deteriorated noticeably,” the New York Federal Reserve said in April. It did not provide a reason for the trend.
The unemployment rate for recent college graduates reached 5.8%, its highest level since 2021, while the underemployment rate soared above 40%, the New York Fed said.
Entry-level tasks in white collar professions stand at serious risk from AI, analysts said, pointing to the technology’s capacity to perform written and computational tasks as opposed to manual work.
AI could replace work previously performed by low-level employees, such as legal assistants compiling relevant precedent for a case or computer programmers writing a basic set of code.
Some jobs and tasks remain largely immune to AI automation, analysts said, pointing to hands-on work such as manual labor and trades, as well as professional roles like doctors and upper management.