Much has been said about AI coming for the white-collar industry, making it increasingly difficult for young graduates to find entry-level positions.
A Goldman Sachs research note suggests that while AI has so far had little impact on the job prospects of college grads, this dynamic could change in the near term.
"AI-related employment headwinds have so far been modest and limited to a few specific AI-exposed subindustries, such as software publishing, data processing, and call centers," the report, written by Goldman Sachs researchers with interviews of MIT experts, said.
But the researchers argue that college graduates could feel AI's effects in the near term more so than non-college grads because adoption is moving fastest in industries like finance, management, and professional services, where they make up more than 60% of the workforce.
At the same time, degree holders are heavily concentrated in specialized white-collar fields such as legal, architecture, and engineering, where roughly 40% of daily tasks are considered highly automatable.
Long-term, however, the researchers are more optimistic about the job prospects for young entry-level workers.
"First, higher AI adoption does not necessarily imply greater risk of job displacement because AI can also augment labor and boost employment growth in many occupations, not just substitute for it," said the report.
Second, the researchers expect AI to create new jobs that will partly offset the positions it replaces, much as past technological advances have done.
The report also noted "younger workers most at risk from the erosion of entry-level positions have historically adjusted more quickly to technology-induced shifts in labor demand."
Young adults entering college are already adjusting to the AI-driven shift in the labor market. Students are pulling back from once-popular majors like computer and information sciences while gravitating toward fast-growing fields such as healthcare.
Ines Ferre is a Senior Business Reporter for Yahoo Finance covering the US stock market and economy.
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