Overview

• Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab analyzed ADP payroll records from 2022 to 2025 and found employment for 22–25-year-olds in high AI‑exposure jobs fell 13%.
• Headcount for early-career software developers dropped nearly 20%, with additional declines reported for customer service agents, receptionists and translators.
• In the same AI‑exposed occupations, older workers’ headcounts were flat or slightly higher compared with pre-ChatGPT levels.
• Young workers in low‑exposure fields, including industrial roles, nursing and retail supervision, saw headcounts grow over the past few years.
• Researchers also found wages have been stagnant since 2022, and separate reporting highlights that some companies cite AI during broader cost-cutting as an MIT study reports weak revenue returns for most AI rollouts.