Artificial intelligence may pose a significant threat to millions of students who are getting ready to graduate this year, according to LinkedIn’s chief economic opportunity officer, Aneesh Raman.
In an article written for the New York Times, Raman likened today’s situation to that of the decline of the manufacturing sector in the 1980s, which saw a steep fall.
Raman argued that office workers are now in a similar kind of situation amid technological and economic disruption.
“Now it is our office workers who are staring down the same kind of technological and economic disruption,” he wrote.
The bottom rung of the career ladder, which is the entry-level employees, will be the first to break.
“Breaking first is the bottom rung of the career ladder,” Raman wrote.
The LinkedIn executive wrote that artificial intelligence poses a real threat to a number of entry-level jobs that serve as the stepping stone for Gen Z workers to launch their careers.
“There are growing signs that artificial intelligence poses a real threat to a substantial number of the jobs that normally serve as the first step for each new generation of young workers,” as per Raman.
The pressures of sinking numbers of jobs are only being accelerated by uncertainty in the economy due to tariffs, as global trade woes persist at a time when millions of Gen Z students are trying to enter the workforce.
“Uncertainty around tariffs and global trade is likely to only accelerate that pressure, just as millions of 2025 graduates enter the work force,” the LinkedIn executive wrote in his op-ed.
Rising unemployment confirms fears?
Raman cited LinkedIn’s latest employment figures to say that the changes in hiring behaviour are coinciding with a shift in the numbers. As per LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index, which has hit new lows amid general uncertainty, shows that GenZ is the most pessimistic about jobs than any other group.
In one of LinkedIn’s recent surveys, over 3,000 executives at the vice president level or higher agreed that AI will eventually replace some of the mundane tasks that are typically done by entry-level workers.
“Virtually all jobs will experience some impacts, but office jobs are expected to feel the biggest crunch,” Raman said.
In almost all sectors, including IT , law and retail, entry-level employees will see a reduction in jobs as AI can do their tasks more efficiently in a lesser amount of time.