{"id":25731,"date":"2026-02-18T18:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T18:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=25731"},"modified":"2026-02-18T18:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T18:39:17","slug":"as-ai-puts-the-squeeze-on-entry-level-jobs-teens-remain-optimistic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=25731","title":{"rendered":"As AI puts the squeeze on entry-level jobs, teens remain optimistic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"RegularArticle-ArticleBody-5\" data-module=\"ArticleBody\" data-test=\"articleBody-2\" data-analytics=\"RegularArticle-articleBody-5-2\"><span class=\"HighlightShare-hidden\" style=\"top:0;left:0\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"InlineImage-imageEmbed\" id=\"ArticleBody-InlineImage-108002904\" data-test=\"InlineImage\">\n<div class=\"InlineImage-wrapper\">\n<div>\n<p>Valerie Plesch | The Washington Post | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Even as the\u00a0U.S. economy\u00a0adds\u00a0jobs and the unemployment rate ticks lower, there are fewer\u00a0hiring opportunities for college graduates. And yet, high school students remain remarkably optimistic about their future employment prospects.<\/p>\n<p>According to a new\u00a0report\u00a0by <a href=\"https:\/\/jausa.ja.org\/news\/press-releases\/survey-shows-u-s-teens-aren-t-concerned-about-impact-of-ai-on-their-future-employability-but-should-they-be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Junior Achievement<\/a>, 73% of teenagers said the artificial Intelligence boom will have a mostly positive effect \u2014 or no impact at all \u2014 on their ability to get a good job that pays well. Junior Achievement surveyed more than 1,000 teens between the ages of 13 and 18 in January.<\/p>\n<p>Of those polled, 68% said they plan to attend college, in line with recent years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-relatedContent\" id=\"RegularArticle-RelatedContent-1\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-container\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-nonCollapsibleContent\">\n<h2 class=\"RelatedContent-header\">Read more CNBC personal finance coverage<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<ul>\n<li>Parents with student debt face deadline to secure affordable repayment, forgiveness<\/li>\n<li>Secure 2.0 let employers pair emergency savings and 401(k)s, but few have done so<\/li>\n<li>Home sellers start getting lower prices at 70, research shows \u2014 here&#8217;s why<\/li>\n<li>Average IRS tax refund is up 10.9% so far this season, early filing data shows<\/li>\n<li>Early estimates point to lower Social Security COLA for 2027<\/li>\n<li>Senators call for longer Social Security Fairness Act lump-sum payment timeline<\/li>\n<li>Here&#8217;s the inflation breakdown for January 2026 \u2014 in one chart<\/li>\n<li>Average tax refund is up 22%, Bessent says \u2014 what filers can expect this season<\/li>\n<li>K-shaped economy looks like &#8216;jaws of a crocodile,&#8217; economist says: Here&#8217;s why<\/li>\n<li>How EPA &#8216;endangerment finding&#8217; repeal could impact your wallet<\/li>\n<li>Medical emergencies can lead to debt and bankruptcy \u2014 even for insured Americans<\/li>\n<li>Bigger tax refunds may be coming \u2014 but missing key forms could risk an audit<\/li>\n<li>How Social Security Fairness Act payments may affect beneficiaries&#8217; taxes<\/li>\n<li>Credit card debt tops $1.28 trillion, consistent with &#8216;K-shaped&#8217; economy: NY Fed<\/li>\n<li>How affordability led to a chasm between stock prices, consumer optimism<\/li>\n<li>Student loan complaints at record high, CFPB finds, but agency omits details<\/li>\n<li>CNBC&#8217;s Financial Advisor 100: Best financial advisors, top firms ranked<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s awesome to see that today&#8217;s teens are optimistic about the future,&#8221; said Jack Harris, Junior Achievement&#8217;s CEO. &#8220;In the face of AI, some form of post-secondary education is going to be very necessary,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We just have to be sure we are preparing students in the right way so that optimism<strong> <\/strong>doesn&#8217;t fall flat.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a id=\"headline0\"><\/a>A mixed jobs picture<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Recent data does show that the labor market is doing well. The U.S. economy\u00a0added more jobs than expected\u00a0in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The overall unemployment rate edged down to\u00a04.3% \u2014 but for younger workers, ages 16 to 24, it&#8217;s a different story. Among this cohort, the <a href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/LNU04024887\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unemployment rate was 9.4%<\/a> in January. <\/p>\n<p>There is a bit of a disconnect between &#8220;teens that are a few years out and those just entering the workforce and having difficulty finding jobs,&#8221; Harris said.<\/p>\n<p>Several large employers have said they&#8217;re\u00a0eliminating some entry-level positions, thanks in part to the rise of AI. Employers are projecting just a 1.6% increase in hiring for the Class of 2026 when compared to the Class of 2025, research by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.naceweb.org\/job-market\/trends-and-predictions\/hiring-flat-for-the-college-class-of-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Association of Colleges and Employers<\/a> also shows.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, some industries are more prone to disruptions than others. Entry-level jobs in technology and finance, for example,\u00a0are at greater risk\u00a0largely due to generative artificial intelligence, which can supplant a human&#8217;s analytical skills, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hiringlab.org\/2025\/09\/23\/ai-at-work-report-2025-how-genai-is-rewiring-the-dna-of-jobs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a>\u00a0by Indeed. Alternatively, opportunities in nursing, manufacturing or construction are more insulated, for now, the report found.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108252598\">\n<div role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108252598\" class=\"PlaceHolder-wrapper\" data-vilynx-id=\"7000400984\" data-test=\"VideoPlaceHolder\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-videoEmbed\" id=\"InlineVideo-0\" data-test=\"InlineVideo\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-inlineThumbnailContainer\"><span class=\"InlineVideo-videoButton\"><\/span><span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Fears of an AI-driven,\u00a0white-collar recession are already prompting a growing share of college-aged students to pivot. This year, more chose to get a\u00a0two-year degree\u00a0or even shorter-term credential to put greater emphasis on career training and post-college employment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The rising price tag of a four-year education is another significant factor driving more students toward short-term programs, other research shows. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It really depends on the student,&#8221; said Jill Desjean, director of policy analysis at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. &#8220;For some students, they know that this is the path they want to take, that a two- year or four-year degree is just not in the cards for them, for reasons other than cost.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/CNBC?sub_confirmation=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/02\/18\/as-ai-puts-the-squeeze-on-entry-level-jobs-teens-remain-optimistic.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Valerie Plesch | The Washington Post | Getty Images Even as the\u00a0U.S. economy\u00a0adds\u00a0jobs and the unemployment rate ticks lower, there are fewer\u00a0hiring opportunities for college graduates. And yet, high school students remain remarkably optimistic about their future employment prospects. According to a new\u00a0report\u00a0by Junior Achievement, 73% of teenagers said the artificial Intelligence boom will have<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[196],"tags":[8553,39,2062,4079,948,1219,9686],"class_list":{"0":"post-25731","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-finance-news","8":"tag-entrylevel","9":"tag-jobs","10":"tag-optimistic","11":"tag-puts","12":"tag-remain","13":"tag-squeeze","14":"tag-teens"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}