Studies · 2025 The Vanishing Bottom Rung

Multiple studies converge on the same signal: entry-level work is being absorbed first. Stanford's Digital Economy Lab found steep relative employment declines since late 2022 for workers aged 22–25 in AI-exposed jobs. A Harvard study of 62M+ LinkedIn profiles found early-career headcount at AI-adopting firms fell 7.7% over six quarters while senior staff kept growing. SignalFire found a 50% drop in new hires with under a year of experience. The fear: if firms stop hiring juniors, they eat their own seed corn — no pipeline to senior talent.