AI hiring cools entry‑level roles

Artificial intelligence is hitting the job market first by shrinking junior hiring, not by triggering broad layoffs. (dallasfed.org) Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas economists wrote in January that workers ages 22 to 25 in the most artificial-intelligence-exposed occupations saw employment fall 13% since 2022. They said the drop was driven mainly by fewer people moving straight from out of the workforce into jobs, not by layoffs. (dallasfed.org) A separate Dallas Fed analysis in February said total United States employment rose about 2.5% since ChatGPT’s release in fall 2022, but employment in computer systems design fell 5%. The same paper said employment declined 1% in the 10% of sectors most exposed to artificial intelligence, while wages in those sectors still grew faster than the national average. (dallasfed.org) At Stanford’s Institute for Economic Policy Research summit on March 13, economist Erik Brynjolfsson said the labor market’s weak point was a “steady slide” in hiring for software engineering and call-center support, jobs he described as vulnerable to advancing artificial intelligence tools. Former Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Erika McEntarfer said the “bottom isn’t falling out” of the market, but warned of weakness and rising unemployment in the most exposed occupations. (siepr.stanford.edu) Private-sector hiring data point in the same direction. SignalFire said in its 2025 State of Talent Report that hiring for candidates with less than one year of experience fell nearly 50% between 2019 and 2024. (signalfire.com) The contraction is showing up in job postings too. The World Economic Forum wrote on March 26, citing Revelio Labs, that United States postings for entry-level roles fell 35% over the prior 18 months as companies used artificial intelligence for routine work in coding, customer support, and data entry. (weforum.org) Large employers are also weighing whether artificial intelligence spending should be offset by smaller payrolls. Reuters reported on March 14 that Meta was planning layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company as it funds expensive artificial-intelligence infrastructure and prepares for “greater efficiency” from artificial-intelligence-assisted workers; spokesperson Andy Stone called that “speculative reporting about theoretical approaches.” (cnbc.com) Meta had nearly 79,000 employees at December 31, 2025, according to that Reuters report carried by CNBC. Reuters also said no date had been set and the size of any cuts had not been finalized. (cnbc.com) Not every datapoint points to fewer jobs overall. The World Economic Forum said in January, citing LinkedIn data, that artificial intelligence has added 1.3 million new roles globally over the past two years, even as global hiring remained 20% below pre-pandemic levels. (weforum.org) That leaves a narrower problem than the usual “robots take all jobs” headline: companies are still hiring, but fewer of the openings look like the old first rung. The risk in the 2026 data is not only who gets replaced, but who never gets in. (livemint.com)