Vacancies for graduate, apprenticeship, internship and junior roles without degree requirements have fallen sharply since late 2022, with reports of roughly 32–33% declines. Big accountancy firms have cut early-career hiring by up to 29% over two years, and leading AI figures predict further reductions in entry-level roles. Technology companies and startups have reduced graduate hiring significantly compared with 2023 and especially relative to 2019 levels. Contributing factors include smaller funding rounds, shrinking teams, fewer new graduate programmes, rising AI adoption and reduced investment in training. Companies increasingly fill posted junior roles with senior individual contributors, heightening competition for remaining positions.
A recent report by job search engine Adzuna indicated that vacancies for graduate jobs, apprenticeships, internships and junior jobs with no degree requirement had dropped 32% since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. Employment website Indeed also stated that the number of recent graduate jobs advertised had fallen by 33% in mid-June compared with a year ago. This situation appears to be reflected in the Big Four accountancy firms' decision to cut early career hiring by up to 29% over the past two years.
The tech sector is far from immune either. Research by venture capital firm SignalFire revealed that since 2023, the number of new graduates being hired by Big Tech has dropped by 25%, and 11% in the case of tech startups. These numbers jumped to 50% and 30% respectively if comparisons were made with 2019 pre-pandemic levels, but, the study says, this situation cannot be attributed to AI alone.
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