AI is taking away job opportunities of 22–25 year olds, Stanford study finds

AI may be making it harder for young people to land their first jobs. A Stanford study found that employment opportunities for 22–25-year-olds are shrinking in fields highly exposed to AI.Study reveals employment among 22–25-year-olds in highly AI-exposed jobs fell 11 per cent between November 2022 and June 2026.AI is making it tougher for job seekers, but younger workers appear to be bearing the brunt of it. A recent Stanford study found that 22–25-year-olds are seeing significantly fewer employment opportunities in jobs highly exposed to AI compared with those in less AI-exposed fields, with a 19 per cent gap. In simple terms, young people entering in AI-related fields are facing difficulties to land a job. The findings come from a recent study titled Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of Artificial Intelligence by Stanford researchers Erik Brynjolfsson, Bharat Chandar and Ruyu Chen. The researchers analysed payroll data from ADP covering millions of US workers through June 2026.The study found that employment among 22–25-year-olds in jobs most exposed to AI fell by about 11 per cent between November 2022 and June 2026. In comparison, jobs less exposed to AI saw employment among people in the same age group grow by around 10 per cent, creating a 21-percentage-point difference.The same trend was not seen among older workers. By June 2026, employment among 22–25-year-olds across the wider ADP sample was about 2 per cent lower than in November 2022, while employment among older workers grew. For those aged 35–40, it increased by as much as 11 per cent. Companies are hiring fewer young workersSo, what is happening to younger workers?Researchers found that companies are hiring fewer young people for jobs that are more exposed to AI, rather than simply laying off workers already in those roles. This decline in hiring began after 2022, around the time ChatGPT and other generative AI tools became widely available. The researchers say this could be a warning sign for the future of young workers. Entry-level jobs are where people usually gain the experience needed to move into senior roles. If companies start hiring fewer junior workers, it could become harder for young people to move up the career ladder. The study suggests this slowdown in entry-level hiring may be an early sign that AI is beginning to change that traditional career path.The study also found that AI does not affect all jobs in the same way. Employment fell mainly in jobs where AI is being used to automate tasks that people would otherwise do. In jobs where AI works alongside people and helps them do their work, employment opportunities have either remained consistent or grown, particularly among experienced professionals.Why this shift? According to the researchers, one possible reason is that AI is better at handling routine and clearly defined tasks, which are often part of entry-level jobs. More experienced workers, on the other hand, bring skills and knowledge built through years of work and real-world experience, which AI may be more likely to support than replace.- EndsPublished By: Divya BhatiPublished On: Aug 25, 2026 16:53 IST