Overview

• Entry-level roles for graduates, apprentices and interns have tumbled 31.9% since November 2022 and now make up only a quarter of UK job vacancies
• Junior job postings fell another 4.2% in May 2025 even as overall vacancies recovered to pre-pandemic levels
• Retail entry-level vacancies plunged 78.2% between late 2022 and May 2025, while IT, logistics and finance roles have each declined by over 50%
• Major employers including BT, Amazon and IBM confirm ongoing cuts in AI-automatable functions such as call handling, network diagnostics and HR
• Industry and government figures are weighing measures from compulsory AI literacy and tax credits for redeployment to expanded training schemes