AI is Erasing the Entry-Level Job Ladder

September 28, 2026 | njbiz.com

In May 2025, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that AI could wipe out half of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years and push unemployment above 10%. Last month, unemployment sat at 4.1% 

A recent New York Times article, “The Quiet Way AI Is Hitting the Work Force,” makes the case that the damage is real. It’s just showing up somewhere we weren’t told to look. Companies aren’t firing people to capture AI’s gains. They’re paying them less and hiring fewer of them. Wage growth has slowed most in the jobs AI can do, and it’s hit lower earners hardest while top earners barely noticed. In occupations where AI substitutes for human work, hiring of 22- to 25-year-olds has fallen by a third since 2021.

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NJ SEED: An insider’s view of the potential impact of AI on entry level employment and every other level beyond.