Graduate Hiring at Top 15 Firms Drops Over 50% Since 2019 Amid AI Automation Shift

The landscape for new university graduates entering the job market has grown increasingly challenging, with hiring rates at the world’s largest companies plummeting by more than 50% since 2019. This stark decline underscores broader economic shifts, including the rise of automation and a pivot towards efficiency in corporate hiring strategies, potentially reshaping opportunities for young professionals and influencing long-term labour market dynamics.

Tracing the Decline in Graduate Hiring

Since 2019, major corporations—particularly in the technology sector—have significantly curtailed their intake of entry-level talent. Reports indicate that the 15 largest tech firms have reduced new graduate hires by over half, a trend that reflects not just cyclical caution but structural changes in how companies build their workforces. This contraction comes amid a broader slowdown in overall hiring, where headcount growth at tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Meta has stagnated over the past three years, according to labour market analyses.

Historical context reveals a pre-2019 era of aggressive expansion, fuelled by low interest rates and booming digital demand. Back then, tech companies absorbed thousands of fresh graduates annually, often viewing them as investments in future innovation. However, the post-pandemic recovery has prioritised profitability over rapid scaling, leading to a reevaluation of entry-level roles. A report from venture capital firm SignalFire, dated 2025, highlights this shift, noting that AI-driven efficiencies are displacing many tasks traditionally assigned to junior staff.

Impact of AI on Entry-Level Opportunities

The integration of artificial intelligence has accelerated this trend, with tech openings for new graduates halving since 2019. As companies deploy AI tools for coding, data analysis, and customer service, the need for large cohorts of inexperienced hires diminishes. For instance, a 2025 analysis from The Economic Times points out that tech giants have slashed entry-level roles by more than 50%, attributing this to AI’s role in automating routine jobs. This isn’t mere speculation; visual data from Visual Capitalist in July 2025 charts surging demand for AI-specialised roles while other functions, such as general software development, stagnate.

Analysts forecast that this AI-induced disruption could persist, with models from Gusto predicting a 16% drop in new graduate hire rates for May and June 2025 compared to the previous year. Such projections suggest a “frozen” job market where employers retain existing staff and hesitate to expand payrolls, exacerbating underemployment among recent graduates. Indeed, surveys from Inside Higher Ed in May 2025 reveal that 52% of 2023 graduates were underemployed a year after finishing their degrees—the highest rate in years.

Economic Implications for Graduates and Investors

For new entrants to the workforce, this hiring slump translates into heightened competition and delayed career progression. Unemployment among 22- to 27-year-olds with bachelor’s degrees has risen sharply, from 3.8% to 4.9% in recent periods, marking the steepest increase across education groups since 2018–19. This shift is prompting graduates to adapt their job search strategies, with healthcare surpassing information technology as the top sector for applications in 2025, per Glassdoor data from July 2025. It’s a pragmatic pivot, but one that highlights the mismatch between educational outputs and market demands.

From an investor’s perspective, this trend signals maturing business models in Big Tech. Reduced hiring of graduates often correlates with improved margins, as companies leverage technology to do more with less. Yet, it also raises questions about innovation pipelines—after all, today’s entry-level hires are tomorrow’s leaders. If corporations continue to favour experienced talent or AI over fresh perspectives, long-term growth could suffer. Sentiment from credible sources like S&P Global, as of late 2024, notes a decline in job listings for college graduates, reflecting cautious corporate outlooks amid economic uncertainty.

Sector-Specific Trends and Forecasts

While tech bears the brunt, the decline isn’t isolated. Consulting firms such as PwC, Deloitte, and KPMG have paused graduate recruitments in some regions for the first time since the COVID-19 era, as reported in industry analyses from 2025. Conversely, a November 2024 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) anticipates a 7.3% uptick in overall graduate hiring for the class of 2025, suggesting pockets of resilience in non-tech sectors.

• Tech Sector: Hiring down over 50% since 2019, driven by AI and efficiency gains.
• Healthcare: Emerging as a growth area, overtaking IT in graduate applications for the first time in six years.
• Consulting: Selective pauses in recruitment, indicating broader caution.

Analyst-led forecasts, such as those from Express Employment Professionals in May 2024, indicate that 55% of U.S. employers plan to hire recent alumni, a positive trend tempered by the overall slowdown. However, if AI adoption accelerates as projected—potentially automating 30% of entry-level tasks by 2030, per some models—these figures could revise downward.

Broader Market Context and Strategic Considerations

This graduate hiring drought occurs against a backdrop of stagnant headcount in Big Tech, where collective employee numbers have flatlined since 2022. Posts on social platforms like X reflect growing frustration among job seekers, with sentiment labelling it a “frozen market” for computer science majors. Such anecdotal evidence, while inconclusive, aligns with verified data showing minimal job growth in high-profile employers.

Investors might view this as a double-edged sword: short-term cost savings bolster earnings, but sustained underinvestment in talent could erode competitive edges. Companies that buck the trend—perhaps by upskilling graduates in AI—may gain an advantage. Meanwhile, the credentialing system faces scrutiny; universities continue to churn out degrees, yet corporate doors are closing, creating a potential oversupply of qualified but unemployed youth.

In summary, the over-50% drop in graduate hiring by the largest companies since 2019 is more than a statistic—it’s a harbinger of a transformed labour market. As AI reshapes roles and efficiency trumps expansion, stakeholders from graduates to shareholders must navigate these changes with foresight. The question isn’t whether hiring will rebound, but how profoundly the entry-level job will evolve in response.

References

• Business Insider. (2022, November). Employment trends 2023: labour shortage and companies hiring college graduates. https://www.businessinsider.com/employment-trends-2023-labor-shortage-companies-hiring-college-graduates-2022-11
• Career Management. (2024, May 29). Employer perspectives on new graduate recruitment. https://carriermanagement.com/news/2024/05/29/262576.htm
• Economic Times. (2025, July). AI displacing new graduate jobs in tech. https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/us/alarming-trend-as-ai-eats-into-jobs-tech-companies-hiring-of-new-grads-has-plummeted-over-50-since-2019-us-jobs-news/articleshow/121447721.cms
• Express Employment Professionals. (2024, May). U.S. employer hiring intent for college graduates. https://giveagradago.com/resources/employment-statistics-recruitment-trends/
• Glassdoor. (2025, July). Graduate job application trends by sector. https://glassdoor.com/blog/how-new-grads-are-changing-their-job-search-strategies
• Gusto. (2025). New graduate hiring report. https://gusto.com/resources/gusto-insights/new-grad-hiring-report-2025
• Inside Higher Ed. (2025, May 22). Graduate underemployment statistics. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/life-after-college/2025/05/22/data-trends-hiring-2025-graduate-readiness
• Livemint. (2025). AI threatens entry-level jobs: tech openings halved since 2019. https://livemint.com/technology/tech-news/ai-threatens-entry-level-lobs-tech-openings-for-new-grads-have-already-been-halved-11755346500101.html
• Money.com. (2024). Employers hiring more college graduates: NACE survey. https://money.com/employers-hiring-more-college-graduates-nace/
• NACE. (2024, November). Outlook on Class of 2025 hiring. https://money.com/employers-hiring-more-college-graduates-nace/
• OnlineU. (n.d.). Top companies hiring college graduates. https://www.onlineu.com/magazine/top-companies-hiring-college-graduates
• SignalFire. (2025). Structural workforce trends and AI displacement impact. [Referenced in article]
• The HBCU Career Center. (n.d.). Current trends in college graduate hiring. https://www.thehbcucareercenter.com/blog/current-trends-showing-uptick-in-companies-hiring-recent-college-graduates
• Visual Capitalist. (2025, July). Big Tech hiring trends by job function. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/big-tech-hiring-trends-by-job-function/
• X.com. Various accounts including @unusual_whales, @thejobchick, @C_NyaKundiH, @deedydas, @wallstengine, @BoringBiz_, @MarketNews_Feed, @Ryan63970079, @AQPulse [Posts reflect sentiment and anecdotal evidence cited in article]