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Generative AI cuts junior jobs, shifting hiring toward seniors
A Harvard-linked working paper tracking 62 million workers across 285,000 U.S. firms found junior employment fell about 9% within six quarters, while senior roles held steady.
Morgan Housel warned that generative AI is creating a “career gap” for new graduates by eliminating the junior roles that traditionally build early job skills, according to discussion captured by Yahoo Finance.
The outlet cited a Harvard working paper that tracked 62 million workers across 285,000 U.S. firms and found that companies adopting generative AI reduced junior employment by about 9% within six quarters, while senior employment held steady. The pattern was described by the paper’s authors as “seniority-biased technological change.”
Housel said the issue extends beyond tuition or college choice, arguing that many university lessons can now be learned through platforms such as YouTube or ChatGPT. He also noted that AI is taking over entry-level tasks, leading to a hiring freeze in junior positions rather than layoffs of experienced workers.
The story added that entry-level hiring at the 15 largest tech companies fell more than 50% from pre-pandemic levels through 2024, with graduates’ share of new hires dropping from about 15% to roughly 7%, according to SignalFire’s 2025 State of Tech Talent Report. A SignalFire June 2026 update revised the decline to roughly 65% across 12 Tech Majors since 2019, and early-stage startups saw entry-level hiring fall around 75% over the same period.