{"slug": "goldman-junior-white-collar-workers-squeezed-hardest-by-ai-hiring-slump", "title": "Goldman: Junior white-collar workers squeezed hardest by AI hiring slump", "summary": "Goldman Sachs research shows AI-related hiring pressures are strongest among entry-level white-collar workers, with a 10% occupational exposure to AI associated with a 0.1 percentage point drag on annual headcount growth overall, but more than 0.2 percentage points for entry-level workers in the US and more than 0.6 percentage points in Australia. The bank analyzed over 800 occupations and found industries like management consulting, advertising, software publishing, and call centres have seen weaker job growth since 2022. Separately, Lloyds Business Barometer found 54% of UK businesses said AI created new roles, and 58% plan to increase AI skills spending.", "body_md": "# Goldman: Junior white-collar workers squeezed hardest by AI hiring slump\n\nArtificial intelligence is beginning to weigh most heavily on junior white-collar jobs, according to Goldman Sachs, as new research points to a growing divide between workers entering industries such as consulting and advertising, and their more experienced colleagues.\n\nThe Wall Street bank analysed employment across more than 800 occupations and found that AI-related hiring pressures were strongest among entry-level workers, while the effect across the broader labour market remained relatively small.\n\nThe findings add to concerns surrounding the traditional route into City and professional services careers, where junior staff have typically carried out research and administrative work that generative AI can increasingly perform.\n\nGoldman found that industries with greater exposure to AI automation have generally suffered weaker growth in job openings since the second half of 2022, with management consulting, advertising, software publishing and call centres among those falling furthest below their historic employment trends.\n\nInformation and communications services, another highly exposed part of the economy, has seen employment growth slow across almost all major developed economies since 2022.\n\nAcross the overall workforce, a 10 per cent occupational exposure to AI was associated with only a 0.1 percentage point drag on annual headcount growth in the US, France and Canada.\n\nFor entry-level workers, Goldman estimated the effect at more than 0.2 percentage points in the US and more than 0.6 percentage points in Australia.\n\n## UK job market weakens further\n\nThe research comes as Britain’s labour market continues to lose momentum, particularly for those looking for work.\n\nVacancies fell to 707,000 in the three months to July, their [lowest level in more than five years,](https://www.cityam.com/jobless-banquet-youth-unemployment-surge-sends-neets-to-kfc/) according to Office for National Statistics figures published this week.\n\nThe number of employees on company payrolls also fell for a sixth consecutive month in July, while private sector regular wage growth slowed to 2.8 per cent, its weakest pace since October 2020.\n\nGoldman’s findings do not suggest AI is responsible for that broader UK slowdown. The bank concluded that the employment effects of the technology remain concentrated in a relatively narrow group of industries and workers.\n\nBut Goldman combined 11 surveys of AI use and found the UK was among the leading developed economies for adoption, alongside the US, France and the Netherlands.\n\nSeparate Lloyds Business Barometer research [published this week](https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/media/press-releases/2026/lloyds/more-than-half-of-uk-businesses-say-ai-has-created-new-jobs.html) found 54 per cent of UK businesses said AI had created new roles at their companies, while 21 per cent were introducing dedicated AI jobs.\n\nSome 58 per cent plan to increase spending on AI skills over the next year, although nearly a third said their workforce currently lacked the capabilities needed to make full use of the technology.\n\nAmanda Murphy, chief executive of Lloyds Business and Commercial Banking, said businesses would need to build the “skills, culture and confidence” to use AI effectively.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/goldman-junior-white-collar-workers-squeezed-hardest-by-ai-hiring-slump", "canonical_source": "https://www.cityam.com/goldman-junior-white-collar-workers-squeezed-hardest-by-ai-hiring-slump/", "published_at": "2026-08-19 14:51:13+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-19 15:13:48.527773+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Goldman Sachs", "Lloyds Business Barometer", "Amanda Murphy", "Office for National Statistics"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/goldman-junior-white-collar-workers-squeezed-hardest-by-ai-hiring-slump", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/goldman-junior-white-collar-workers-squeezed-hardest-by-ai-hiring-slump.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/goldman-junior-white-collar-workers-squeezed-hardest-by-ai-hiring-slump.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/goldman-junior-white-collar-workers-squeezed-hardest-by-ai-hiring-slump.jsonld"}}