NPR Topics: News
· collected 2026-08-18 · by Lee V. Gaines
Two recent college graduates, Irene Chang and Jacqueline Kline, both report struggling to find entry-level jobs despite submitting hundreds of applications each. According to a survey by ZipRecruiter, 47% of recent graduates believe AI has already impacted hiring in their field. However, economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Stanford University suggest that while AI may be part of the problem, it is not the sole cause, citing payroll data that shows early-career workers in AI-exposed roles experienced a 16% relative employment decline since late 2022.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Many recent grads say AI is making it harder to get a job.
asserted
it → say → job
Economists aren't so sure
Irene Chang, 21, studied engineering in college because she enjoys solving problems.
asserted
she → study → problems
She also wanted to major in something she thought would lead to a stable career.
asserted
she → want → career
"I wanted to work a job right after college," she says.
asserted
she → want → college
Chang graduated in May from Georgia Tech with a bachelor's degree in industrial and systems engineering.
uncertain
Chang → graduate → engineering
She says she started applying for entry-level data analyst roles about a year ago, while she was still in school.
asserted
she → say → school
Chang estimates she has submitted around 450 applications since last September and has had about 19 interviews — so far she hasn't gotten any offers.
Jacqueline Kline, 25, is in the same boat.
asserted
Kline → estimate → boat
She graduated this past spring from Florida State University with a master's degree in communications.
asserted
She → graduate → communications
Kline says she did everything she could to land a job after college.
uncertain
she → say → college
She networked, completed multiple internships and started applying for jobs before she even finished her degree.
asserted
she → network → degree
So far, she says, she has applied to more than 500 entry-level jobs since last December.
asserted
she → say → December
"It's hard knowing that I'm doing everything that I can to be successful and feeling like that's not enough," Kline says.
asserted
Kline → know → everything
Both Kline and Chang say they think AI may be part of the reason that finding a job in their respective fields has been such a challenge.
uncertain
finding → say → fields
"I feel like the entry-level skills that you have, they're important, but also something that AI can do very efficiently," Chang says.
asserted
Chang → feel → that
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the unemployment rate for recent graduates — which it defines as 22-to-27-year-olds with a new bachelor's degree or higher — was 5.7% as of June, more than the rate for all workers, which stands at 4.1%.
uncertain
which → accord → %
Many of those recent graduates think AI is to blame for their employment struggles.
asserted
AI → think → struggles
This year, in a survey from ZipRecruiter, 47% of them said AI had already affected hiring in their field.
asserted
AI → say → field
Here's what economists have to say.
asserted
economists → have → what
How AI may be impacting the entry-level job market
Stanford University economist Erik Brynjolfsson says AI is impacting the labor market for entry-level roles.
uncertain
AI → impact → roles
"AI is not the whole story, but it's part of the story and the evidence is building," he says.
asserted
he → build → story
Using payroll data, Brynjolfsson and his co-
asserted
Brynjolfsson → use → data
authors found that since late 2022 — when large language models like ChatGPT started popping up — early-career workers ages 22 to 25 in AI-exposed roles, like software developers and marketing managers, have experienced a 16% relative employment decline.
asserted
workers → find → decline
In comparison, employment rates for older workers in AI-exposed fields and for all workers in jobs that aren't easily automated — like home health aides, physical therapists and construction workers — remained stable or have grown over that same time period.
asserted
that → expose → period
Brynjolfsson says there are two reasons young workers in AI-exposed fields may be feeling the job crunch more than others.
uncertain
workers → say → others
First, because young workers typically bear the brunt of economic contractions — when companies choose to shed employees or pull back on hiring — junior roles often get cut first.
asserted
roles → bear → hiring
Second, Brynjolfsson says, large language models are trained on codified knowledge — information that has been written down in a textbook or document.
asserted
that → say → textbook
"That has a lot of overlap with entry-level people," he says, because it's the same type of knowledge that inexperienced college graduates rely on when they're getting started in the workforce.
asserted
they → have → workforce
But AI models lack the wisdom that comes with on-the-job experience or tacit knowledge that isn't written down.
asserted
that → lack → experience
"So for more senior workers, their kind of knowledge is not as affected," Brynjolfsson says, adding that they don't need to compete with AI as much.
Or is remote work to blame?
asserted
work → affect → AI
Harvard University economist David Deming isn't convinced that AI is to blame for the challenging early-career job market.
asserted
AI → convince → market
"If you look very carefully at the timing, it looks like the decline in junior hiring actually started a bit like six months before ChatGPT was released.
asserted
ChatGPT → look → hiring
And so what that tells me is it's something else," Deming says.
asserted
Deming → tell → me
"I think it's more like remote work."
asserted
it → think → work
A recent analysis from the New York Fed found that companies are less likely to hire recent college grads into roles that can be done remotely.
asserted
that → find → roles
As remote jobs increased following the COVID-19 pandemic, so did unemployment among younger college grads, the New York Fed found.
asserted
Fed → increase → grads
The analysis also found that AI didn't explain the rise in unemployment among younger workers and that remote work was more of a driving force.
asserted
work → find → force
Deming says hiring an entry-level worker requires companies to invest time and resources to get them up to speed.
asserted
hiring → say → speed
Employers hiring for remote jobs may be less likely to choose an entry-level candidate because it's harder to train them from afar.
uncertain
it → hire → them
"And so the value proposition of hiring a junior person when you know they're going to be at home is just not as great," Deming says.
asserted
Deming → hire → home
"And conversely, the value proposition of hiring a more senior person is greater, and because of remote work, you have access to a broader pool of talent from around the country.
asserted
you → hire → country
…and 17 more, not listed.
