The numbers are in — and it looks like artificial intelligence is coming for Gen Z jobs.
US job postings for young adults aged 22 to 25 – the heart of the job-seeking segment of Generation Z – have plunged 13% since 2022 across AI-exposed industries, according to a recent Stanford University report.
It also happens that 2022 is when ChatGPT was first launched – sparking an epic race across corporate America to find ways to use AI to increase efficiencies and otherwise revamp their operations.
Major US employers – including Amazon, UPS and Target – have cut thousands of jobs this year as they ramp up automation efforts.
On Tuesday, IBM said it will lay off about 1% of its workforce in the current quarter, or approximately 2,700 jobs.
“It disproportionately hurts corporate America jobs, specifically around heavy data entry and what would be mundane tasks,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told The Post.
“I think Gen Z could be impacted more than others.”
Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent on artificial intelligence as US firms hope to beat China in the AI race and reap significant cost savings.
The downside of those cost savings is layoffs – particularly hitting jobs like consultants, accounting, finance and entry-level roles that typically appeal to Gen Z graduates, Ives said.
Roles that are seen as pathways for young workers in white-collar jobs are in “substantial” decline, the Stanford report warned.
But AI will also lead to some job creation in roles like software engineering, development and manufacturing, he added.
“AI is definitely playing a role in a tough job market, especially entry level jobs,” Ives told The Post. “I think companies won’t admit it, but it’s definitely playing a bigger role.”
Tech firms have announced huge layoffs this year, though few have attributed the cuts to AI.
Last week, Amazon launched a round of 14,000 job cuts in an effort to “reduce bureaucracy.”
In total, the Seattle-based company is reportedly planning to slash 30,000 corporate jobs – or about 9% of its global office-based workforce – over the coming weeks, sources told Reuters.
It plans to avoid hiring more than half a million jobs over the coming years by automating its warehouses with the latest robots, according to a New York Times report.
Ultimately, the firm’s robotics team is looking to automate 75% of operations, the report said.
Amazon denied the claims in the report. A spokesperson added that the e-commerce giant plans to hire 250,000 people for the upcoming holiday season, but did not share how many of those positions will be permanent.
UPS recently announced 34,000 job cuts, while Target launched a layoff round impacting 1,800 roles.
These cuts could grow worse over the next decade, as AI and automation could wipe out nearly 100 million jobs, according to a report released by Sen. Bernie Sanders (l-Vt.).
Some Gen Zers might be looking to pivot to industries that are more immune to shocks from tech advancements – and healthcare has emerged as a bright spot.
Home health aides are among the roles least impacted by the rise of AI, with nearly 740,000 new positions expected to open up over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Although it only has a median annual pay of about $35,000, the role has a low barrier to entry, often requiring only a high school diploma and brief on-the-job training.
Over the next decade, the US is expected to see about 1.9 million healthcare job openings over the next year, according to the BLS.
Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse anesthetists and health services managers offer higher median pay and long-term stability, though these paths typically require more advanced degrees.
Even techies like Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis have agreed that healthcare remains fairly safe from the AI chopping block.
“There’s a lot of things that we won’t want to do with a machine,” Hassabis previously said.
“You wouldn’t want a robot nurse – there’s something about the human empathy aspect of that care that’s particularly humanistic.”
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