Entry-level jobs at risk as companies embrace AI chatbots instead of Gen Z

Daily Mirror

9 hours ago

New research from the job search site, Adzuna, suggests that the number of entry-level UK jobs has dropped significantly since the launch of ChatGPT and one AI CEO says the worst is yet to come
Gen Z's fondness for ChatGPT may be about to sour as the chatbot has been linked to the disappearance of vital post-grad positions. New research suggests new entry-level jobs have fallen by a third since the launch of ChatGPT - leaving recent grads to fight it out over fewer open positions.
Vacancies for graduate jobs, apprenticeships, internships and junior jobs with no degree requirement have dropped 32 percent since ChatGPT launched in 2022, according to research by Adzuna. Instead of turning to a large pool of bright-eyed graduates, companies have been embracing AI to help cut down workforces and drive efficiency for entry-level roles.
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In relation to the entire UK job market, entry-level jobs now take up only 25 percent, down from 28.9 percent in 2022. Adzuna's findings arrive after Dario Amodei, CEO of the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, warned that the job market is in for a rude awakening.
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Speaking to Axios, Amodei shared that AI technology could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs in the next five years. Amodei went on to say that AI could spike unemployment to 10-20 percent in the next one to five years.
Amodei told Axios, AI companies and the government need to stop "sugar-coating" what's coming. That being the possible mass elimination of jobs across technology, finance, law, consulting and other white-collar professions, especially entry-level jobs.
"We, as the producers of this technology, have a duty and an obligation to be honest about what is coming," Amodei said. "I don't think this is on people's radar."
As reported by The Telegraph, graduate hiring in the City has already dropped dramatically since the launch of ChatGPT. AI is a looming threat to jobs carried out by junior accountants and consultants.
Any recent UK graduate can tell you how difficult it is to find even low-paying positions - and the numbers back up this distressing picture. According to the job search site Indeed, the number of roles targeting recent graduates has fallen by 33 percent - making this the toughest job market since 2018.
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In the UK Jobs reddit community, one commenter wrote: "Almost everyone I know that graduated 2021-2023 got battered. Didn't matter if you had a First Class Degree from a great university in a great subject, learning during COVID made us all unprepared for real office working."
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Another said they are stooping to jobs below their cost of living just to have something on their CV. "Got a school job which pays 18k, poor for a graduate I know but it's necessary for me to gain experience."
Andrew Hunter, Adzuna co-founder, told The Telegraph: '2025 looks like one of the most challenging years we've ever seen for 18-25 year old jobseekers. Economic uncertainty, stagnant growth, low business confidence and sticky inflation are all contributing to rates of entry-level hiring being down significantly year-on-year.
'If you add on the impact of AI on hiring to this story, the outlook for new graduates and school leavers this summer looks fairly stark.'
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In June, the technology secretary Peter Kyle also said workers and businesses should 'act now' to embrace AI, or risk being left behind.
He said: 'I think most people are approaching this with trepidation. Once they start [using AI], it turns to exhilaration, because it is a lot more straightforward than people realise, and it is far more rewarding than people expect.'
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