CNBC AI News, August 11th – The escalating impact of artificial intelligence on the workforce is hitting young professionals in the tech sector particularly hard.
According to a new report from HR firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, over 10,000 jobs in the United States have been directly eliminated due to AI adoption in the first seven months of this year. This makes AI a top-five driver of layoffs in 2025.
Bank of America analyst Michael Hartnett points out that the unemployment rate for recent U.S. graduates has surged from 4.0% in December 2024 to 8.1%, a clear indication that AI is disrupting the employment landscape.
Goldman Sachs analysts are highlighting the disproportionate impact on younger tech workers. The unemployment rate for those aged 20-30 in the tech industry has risen by approximately three percentage points this year, significantly exceeding the overall industry average.
Year-to-date, U.S. companies have announced over 806,000 job cuts in 2025, the highest figure for this period since 2020. The technology sector accounts for over 89,000 of these layoffs, with at least 27,000 positions automated out of existence since 2023.
The survey data suggests that nearly half of Gen Z job seekers believe AI is diminishing the value of a college degree. In the 12 months leading up to May, the unemployment rate for recent U.S. college graduates climbed to 6%, higher than the national average of approximately 4%.
Data from the New York Federal Reserve shows that in March, the unemployment rate for college-educated young adults aged 22-27 reached 5.8%, a four-year high. Oxford Economics estimates that 85% of the recent rise in unemployment is due to new entrants struggling to find jobs, rather than large-scale layoffs of existing employees.
Joseph Briggs, an economist at Goldman Sachs, suggests that while most companies have yet to fully deploy AI, and the overall job market hasn’t been severely impacted yet, hiring freezes in the tech sector are an early warning sign.
However, AI isn’t the sole culprit. An economic slowdown and policy uncertainties are also adding pressure. The weaker-than-expected U.S. non-farm payrolls in July were partly attributed to adjustments in trade policy, leading companies to reduce investment and hiring.
A recent Microsoft report, “The Impact of Generative AI on Occupations,” indicates that white-collar workers, whose job content often overlaps significantly with AI capabilities, are experiencing a greater impact than blue-collar workers.
Ravin Jesuthasan, a future-of-work expert, notes that AI is fundamentally changing the value of white-collar work, with many previously high-value skills rapidly depreciating.
He also observes that blue-collar jobs have undergone significant transformations in recent years. Many positions now require higher technical skills, resulting in increased compensation and greater appeal. Jobs once considered difficult and undesirable may now offer stable and promising career paths.
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