Young people aren't getting hired — but AI isn't to blame, an economist says (www.businessinsider.com)

A recent analysis by economist Dario Perkins from Global Data.TS Lombard reveals that young people entering the job market are facing significant challenges, but artificial intelligence (AI) is not the primary factor behind rising unemployment rates. With a notable increase of over 2.5 percentage points in joblessness among new labor entrants since 2023, Perkins argues that the stagnation in hiring is due to traditional economic factors rather than AI advancements. He identifies three key drivers: normalization of post-pandemic workforce expansion, business caution stemming from policy uncertainty, and profit-squeezing tariffs from the previous administration, all contributing to the slow job creation. This finding is significant for the AI/ML community, as it counters the prevalent narrative that AI is directly displacing jobs, particularly for younger workers in tech. Instead, Perkins’ report suggests that while AI is often perceived as a cost-cutting tool, it is not correlated with higher unemployment in sectors heavily exposed to automation. As Perkins emphasizes, once the economy stabilizes and hiring picks up, the job market for young entrants is likely to improve, indicating that current employment hurdles are more a function of economic conditions than technological disruption.