The first job is getting harder to land in America: What AI is doing to fresh graduates

The US graduate job market is not collapsing in one dramatic sweep. It is tightening in a quieter, more selective way. Research suggests that in AI-exposed roles, young workers are taking the harder hit, especially at the entry level. The real concern is larger than one bad hiring cycle: When first jobs thin out, the pipeline that turns graduates into experienced professionals also begins to weaken.