Is AI taking Gen Z's first jobs? What the 2026 evidence shows

Alastair Greener FPSA Generational communication expert, author and President of the PSA UK and Ireland 2026 Published 29 September 2026 · 7 min read

Graduate vacancies fell to a record low of 8,383 in July 2026, down 45.6% on a year, according to Adzuna. AI is only part of the explanation: chief financial officers surveyed by Deloitte in July 2026 ranked cost control ahead of AI as a brake on graduate hiring, and 40% of employers told the ISE they expect AI to replace no entry-level roles within three years. The quieter risk is losing the routine tasks through which young people learn to communicate at work.

AI is one reason Gen Z's first jobs are harder to find, but finance chiefs put cost first. Graduate vacancies fell to a record low of 8,383 in July 2026, down 45.6% on a year, according to Adzuna figures reported by Personnel Today on 24 August 2026. Yet when Deloitte surveyed 58 chief financial officers in July 2026, a net 64% expected cost control to reduce graduate hiring over the next 12 months, against a net 47% for AI.

The figures in this article were the latest available at the end of September 2026. Adzuna publishes monthly, so newer figures will have followed.

How far have graduate jobs fallen?

Adzuna called the July 2026 figure an all-time record low, below a previous low set in May. Across all jobs, the same Personnel Today report said the number of jobseekers per vacancy had risen to 2.14, from 1.93 a year earlier.

Indeed measures adverts differently, so its figures cannot be set against Adzuna's. According to Personnel Today's report of 3 August 2026, graduate postings on Indeed fell around 7% on the year to "their lowest level for this time of year since 2020". Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed, said graduates and younger workers "are competing for fewer opportunities to gain an initial foothold".

More young people are heading into that market. UCAS reported on 13 August 2026 that a record 262,820 UK 18 year olds had been accepted on results day, up 3% from 255,130 in 2025.

8,383UK graduate vacancies in July 2026, a record lowAdzuna, July 2026

64%net balance of CFOs expecting cost control to cut graduate hiring in the next 12 months (47% for AI)Deloitte CFO Survey, July 2026

87%of employers expect AI to reshape graduate and apprentice rolesISE Student Development Survey 2026

59%of Gen Z had used AI platforms such as ChatGPT, against 13% of Baby BoomersCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

Is AI to blame for fewer graduate jobs?

Partly. Deloitte's finance chiefs named a "wider business impetus for cost control" as the number one reason graduate hiring fell over the past 12 months (net 62%) and the number one expected reason for the year ahead (net 64%). AI and outsourcing came second and third for the year ahead.

The fact-checking site UK Fact Check drew on the same survey on 24 August 2026, rating as "Mixed" a story claiming graduate jobs had fallen by almost 50% as employers replaced entry-level roles with AI. The fall was real; the fact-checkers found the story put AI in front when the Deloitte survey identified cost control as the biggest factor.

Employers also expect AI to change entry-level work more than to remove it. In the Institute of Student Employers' survey of 144 employers, published on 7 May 2026, 87% expected AI adoption to reshape graduate and apprentice roles. Over the next three years, 40% expected to replace no entry-level roles with AI, 42% only a small number (1% to 10%) and 18% more than 10%.

How many entry-level roles employers expect AI to replaceEmployers' expectations for the next three years

None40%
Only a small number (1% to 10%)42%
More than 10%18%

Base: 144 employers Source: Institute of Student Employers, published 7 May 2026

Why do first jobs matter so much for communication?

First jobs are where many people learn how work communication is done: by drafting the email a manager then rewrites, sitting in on the client call, taking the minutes and being corrected. Much of that is routine work, which is exactly the work employers expect to shrink. The ISE's employers expect critical thinking, AI literacy, communication and adaptability to grow in importance, and routine admin, basic data and writing tasks to matter less.

Writing is the clearest case. Robbie Westacott, a writer and marketing consultant, explained on the podcast why handing your writing to a machine before you have developed the skill yourself is a damaging shortcut, in Writing in the age of AI: why human storytelling matters more than ever. Writing about that conversation in a LinkedIn post in July 2026, Alastair argued that AI "should support our thinking rather than become a substitute for it".

Employers are noticing the shortcuts. Two-thirds of those in the ISE survey believed graduates and apprentices were using AI to misrepresent their skills, up from around half in 2025.

Which generation uses AI most, and who worries most?

The generation entering work is the one most used to AI. In our 2024 survey, Communication Habits and Preferences 2024, 59% of Gen Z had used AI platforms such as ChatGPT, against 48% of Millennials and 13% of Baby Boomers. Ofcom's adults' media report, published on 2 April 2026, found 54% of UK adults used tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, including "about four in five 16-24s (79%)".

Who had used AI platforms such as ChatGPTShare of each generation, 2024

Gen Z59%
Millennials48%
Baby Boomers13%

Source: Communication Habits and Preferences 2024

Younger workers also worry more. In the US, Gallup reported on 15 September 2026 that 27% of workers worried technology could soon make their jobs obsolete, a new high, with workers under 45 more worried than those 45 and older (34% against 19%). Alastair wrote about this fear of becoming obsolete in a LinkedIn post in September 2023, describing himself as an optimist and arguing that every generation at work would have to adapt, "as we always have done".

So the people who use AI most are often managed by people who use it less. That gap is a reason to talk, which is where our Generation Z guide and our comparison of Gen Z and Millennials at work can help.

What should school leavers, parents and managers talk about?

For school leavers and graduates, the useful conversation is about which skills AI cannot supply. Be open about any AI use in applications, never use it to claim skills you lack, and practise explaining your own thinking out loud, because an interview or a first meeting will test it.

For parents and grandparents, the market is different from the one they joined. Ask what AI does in the field your child wants to enter, and share how you learned your own job, including the mistakes someone corrected. George Cairns, founder of Get AI Powers, discussed what AI means for recent graduates, and why organisations have to redesign how people work around it, in From hype to workflow: making AI actually useful.

For managers, keep some routine work as training rather than automating all of it, and pair new starters with experienced colleagues on the tasks AI cannot do, such as a difficult client call. Agree openly what AI use is acceptable. Robbie Westacott's advice to employers, as Alastair reported it, was to recognise young recruits' expertise with new tools while helping them build "the human skills that technology can't replace". Our guide to reverse mentoring shows how that knowledge can flow both ways.

Frequently asked questions

Is AI taking graduate jobs in the UK?

AI is one factor, but finance chiefs rank cost higher. In Deloitte's survey of 58 chief financial officers in July 2026, a net 64% expected cost control to reduce graduate hiring over the next 12 months, against a net 47% for AI. In the ISE's 2026 survey, 40% of employers expected AI to replace no entry-level roles within three years.

How much have graduate job adverts fallen?

Adzuna counted 8,383 UK graduate vacancies in July 2026, a record low and 45.6% fewer than a year earlier. Indeed, which measures adverts differently, reported graduate postings down around 7% on the year to their lowest level for the time of year since 2020. The two figures cannot be compared directly.

How many young people use AI tools?

Ofcom's adults' media report, published in April 2026, found that about four in five 16 to 24 year olds (79%) use tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, against 54% of all adults. In our 2024 survey, 59% of Gen Z had used AI platforms, against 48% of Millennials and 13% of Baby Boomers.

What skills will entry-level jobs need as AI spreads?

Employers in the Institute of Student Employers' 2026 survey expected critical thinking, AI literacy, communication and adaptability to grow in importance, while routine admin, basic data and writing tasks would matter less. Being able to explain your own thinking, in writing and out loud, matters more when AI can produce a first draft.

Hear Alastair's conversations about AI, work and every generation on the Generationally Speaking podcast.

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