"Entry-level roles are drying up because of AI automation and budget cuts. This is particularly true for marketing, where AI's capacity to do grunt work has organizations considering eliminating entry-level positions. However, doing that puts the future talent pipeline at risk."
"According to the New York Federal Reserve, unemployment among recent college graduates (ages 22-27) is 5.8%-matching the rate for adults without a high school diploma. In Q2 2025, the average was 5.3%, with underemployment above 41%, a trend rising faster than the overall workforce."
"That feeling grew along with the agency's use of AI. It's gone beyond back-office tasks and now plays a role in research, creative development and production. Much of that work used to be handled by junior staff and helped teach them about the nuts and bolts of marketing. However, some long-term organizational planning made her realize that not having junior staff now will create a crisis later. "I was looking at 2029, 2030, and realized that our staffing plan was going to have a problem," she said. "Where are we going to get the mid-level and higher individuals in any discipline? We were going to have a crisis.""
Entry-level roles are shrinking due to AI automation and budget reductions, with marketing especially affected as AI handles repetitive and creative tasks. Agencies experience higher efficiency and a leaner headcount while relying on AI for research, creative development and production. Eliminating junior roles removes on-the-job training that historically produced mid-level and senior talent, creating projected staffing shortfalls by 2029–2030. Recent college graduates face elevated unemployment and underemployment rates, indicating a widening gap in early-career opportunities. Industry leaders caution that replacing entry-level hires with AI risks long-term workforce sustainability and talent development.
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