Why the entry-level job market is failing college graduates

Revolut recently announced that starting in 2027, interns and graduate program participants must work in the office at least three days a week. The fintech firm argues that early-career employees require the observational learning that only occurs in person. Queenie Li, head of talent programs at the company, noted that junior staff learn by watching colleagues rather than just following manager instructions. This shift highlights a growing corporate consensus that remote work hinders the mentorship essential for professional development.

Researchers are divided on the primary cause of the broader hiring slump. Peter John Lambert, a postdoctoral fellow at the London School of Economics, analyzed hiring data and concluded that remote work is a more significant factor than generative AI. His research suggests that entry-level hiring dropped by nearly 29% in recent years, a decline that began before AI tools became sophisticated enough to displace workers. New York Fed researchers support this view, noting that feedback loops for younger staff taper off significantly when teams are physically separated.

Conversely, some experts point to the direct impact of technology. Mark Ma, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, found that companies explicitly incorporating AI into their operations reduced hiring, particularly in junior roles. He suggests that businesses are increasingly automating entry-level tasks, making these positions redundant. Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom cautions that current data cannot isolate a single culprit, suggesting instead a confluence of pandemic-era learning losses, a tech-sector slowdown, and structural shifts in how firms integrate new hires. Despite these challenges, data from Gallup indicates that many Gen Z workers actually prefer hybrid arrangements, suggesting that a lack of in-office mentorship may be as detrimental to employee satisfaction as it is to career progression.