U.S. — PwC released the 2026 AI Jobs Barometer, which found that entry-level roles in occupations exposed to artificial intelligence require skills historically associated with experienced workers. In the most AI-exposed occupations, 52% of new skills in entry-level job postings were traditionally found in senior positions.

Overall, job openings for entry-level roles requiring these previously senior-level skills grew 35% from 2019 to 2026. Conversely, traditional entry-level openings declined 10% during the same period. For comparison, only 7% of new skills in entry-level job postings in the least AI-exposed occupations were traditionally associated with experienced workers. These later-career skills include strategic decision-making, stakeholder management, leadership, and judgment.

The report analyzed more than 1 billion job postings. Dan Priest, U.S. chief AI officer at PwC, said, "What it does show is that employers are changing what they ask for in entry-level roles." He added, "As AI takes on more routine tasks, employers are placing a greater premium on uniquely human capabilities and asking early-career workers to contribute those skills sooner than they have in the past."

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that recent graduate unemployment was 5.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025, which was above the national unemployment rate. Recent graduate underemployment stood at 42.5%. A Harvard working paper that analyzed 62 million workers indicated that junior hiring decreased by nearly 8% within six quarters at companies that adopted AI.

Companies in the most AI-exposed sectors recorded 34% labor productivity growth since 2018, while those in the least AI-exposed sectors recorded 24% growth. The highest-performing 20% of the most AI-exposed companies achieved an average labor productivity growth of 163% since 2018. Priest said, "In AI-exposed jobs, the skills gaining importance aren't just technical AI skills." He added, "Increasingly, employers are looking for judgment, communication, leadership, creativity, and collaboration."

About 11 million early-career jobs were posted in 2025 across PwC's global early-career dataset. Priest said, "The story isn't that entry-level work is disappearing, it's that the skills employers are looking for are evolving."

No independent assessment was available for this report.