- Workers between 22 and 25 seem to be more affected by AI
- Software development and customer service are highly affected
- The roles subject to a higher automation are at greater risk
A new article by researchers from Stanford has discovered six truths on the effects of AI on workforce, and it might not be so good for younger workers.
The data show that the youngest workers, 22-25, in the works most exposed to A-Exposed, have seen a substantial decrease in employment since the late 2022, this includes roles such as software development and customer service.
This, the researchers say, has led to stagnant youth job in general even though total employment rates of the United States continue to increase.
Ai could be taking the work of the youngest workers
By July 2025, for example, employment for software developers in this age group decreased almost 20% compared to the end of 2022. In general, employment in the roles most exposed to AI decreased by around 6% for this young demographic, but older workers (defined as 35-49) saw an increase of 6-9%.
Stanford’s document is a way of explaining why youth employment has been relatively flat despite the general national growth.
Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, the researchers behind the document, go further by dividing AI into two different categories: automation and increase.
Younger workers were more affected by AI as automation, which replaces tasks and leads to the decrease in entry level work.
In contrast, older workers were more likely to be affected by AI as an increase, where human work supports. In this case, the researchers did not see a decrease, and sometimes even a growth.
They found that employment rates are more difficult than salaries in most cases, with reductions of personnel more likely to occur than salary cuts. Already this calendar year, the technology industry has seen more than 81,000 layoffs, although this is less a maximum of 2023 of 264,000+ (throughout the year).
However, the document suggests that all hope is not lost, pointing out previous trends, such as the IT revolution that “finally led to robust growth in employment and real wages after physical and human capital adjustments.”
With that in mind, it is possible that AI can improve the general labor market, but only after an initial turbulence period that affects the most qualified workers disproportionately.
