The number of entry level jobs comprised of junior positions, graduate roles and apprenticeships has fallen by almost a third (31.9 per cent) since the arrival of ChatGPT, research shows.
Job search site Adzuna found that vacancies looking for graduates had fallen to the lowest level since Covid, with entry level jobs now only accounting for a quarter of the total market, down from 28.9 per cent in 2022.
While replacing entry-level roles with artificial intelligence taking on tasks is part of the picture, rising labour costs - including increased National Insurance contributions - are also a factor, with rising salaries outstripping inflation until recently.
ChatGPT launched in November 2022, releasing several versions since then and starting what has been a new era of technological transformation. The company which owns it is now worth $300bn (£219bn), making it bigger than any public listed company on the London Stock Exchange.
The chief executive of Anthropic, another AI firm, said recently that AI could wipe out up to half all entry-level jobs in as little as five years. Dario Amodei argued that unemployment could rise to ten or 20 per cent in the UK over that timeframe, saying: “I don’t think this is on people’s radar”.
James Neave, head of data science at Adzuna, said : “If you can reduce your hiring at the entry level, that’s just going to increase your efficiency and improve cost savings. The NIC contributions were just a pure financial burden,” while also suggesting the upcoming Employment Rights Bill could also be a dissuading factor.
“If you’re an employer, it all adds to this list of reasons why you shouldn’t hire people,” he said.
Several big firms across the nation have already said they plan to significantly reduce their headcount as part of cost-cutting measures, with artificial intelligence slated to take on much of the work.
BT are a case in point, with CEO Allison Kirkby saying initial plans to strip out 40,000 to 50,000 employees by 2030 didn’t “reflect the full potential of AI”, meaning even more job losses could follow.
Amazon also said job losses would be coming as a result of employing AI in wider-reaching roles, but did not specify how many or when.
