"Does AI mean that you should hire senior people or middle-level, or junior, or are all the jobs going to go away because AI will replace them all?" Field asked. "I've heard that last one a bunch of times, and it hasn't come true yet. All the people have said that. They continue to hire."
Small companies account for a large proportion of the workforce domestically and globally. The World Bank Group estimates small and medium enterprises constitute roughly 90% of all businesses and are responsible for more than 50% of global employment, as LinkedIn notes in its prediction. Entry-level and early-career workers also tend to make up a higher proportion of the workforce at small businesses than at larger firms.
AI may be blamed for this year's layoffs, but a new global survey says the technology could fuel a rebound in some entry-level hiring next year. Public-company CEOs say AI is creating more jobs in 2026, according to an annual outlook survey conducted by advisory firm Teneo released this month. Sixty-seven percent of theCEOs surveyed said they expect AI to increase entry-level hiring in 2026, and 58% said they plan to add senior-leadership roles as well.
Finding a job should be easy and accessible. Whether you're looking for your first real job or a part-time gig, Facebook's new job tool helps you find and apply for the kind of work you want. You can easily search for new jobs via our dedicated tab in Marketplace. Job listings will also appear across Groups and Pages, and you can filter and sort jobs on the Marketplace Jobs subtab by category, distance, and job type.
BSI published a report this week that surveyed business leaders from eight countries around the world - including the UK and US - that found 39 percent of business leaders have already reduced junior and entry-level headcount in favor of more AI adoption. And it's not stopping there. The study found that a further 43 percent of business leaders expect to further reduce entry-level roles (which includes both cutting existing roles and not hiring new people) in the next year in favor of AI. A full 50 percent "specifically" said AI is helping them reduce headcount.
Especially alarming to many has been AI's effect on entry-level jobs. A blockbuster Stanford study in August was especially rattling, as it claimed to find a "significant and disproportionate impact" on entry-level jobs most exposed to AI automation-like software development and customer service-have seen steep relative declines in employment. This came out close to the MIT study that said 95% of generative AI pilots were failing and the somewhat sudden realization that AI could be building toward a bubble.
LinkedIn's chief economic opportunity officer recently warned that AI is "breaking" entry-level jobs that have historically served as stepping stones for young workers. As Aneesh Raman wrote in The New York Times, "Breaking first is the bottom rung of the career ladder." AI tools are performing simple coding and debugging tasks that junior software developers once did to gain experience, along with work that young employees in the legal and retail sectors traditionally handled.
