The ‘unemployable’ generation: The ONS figures hide the true scale of youth joblessness in the age of AI

They’re staring down their final term at university, preparing to take on the world and build a career. They were made a promise when they started school. Work hard. Dedicate yourself to learning. Earn that degree and the workforce will welcome you with open arms and a steady salary.

The problem? Since that promise was made to them a short 15 years ago the world has changed in a way that not only breaks that promise, it makes it seem foolish and cruel in retrospect.

A recent MIT study reports that 11.7% of the workforce can already be automated. But, the same MIT study states that 97% of companies saw no meaningful productivity gains from AI. The true story? That automation hits entry level jobs first, and those entry level jobs are traditionally held by recent graduates just entering the workforce. Unemployment among the global youth is approx. 13%, or nearly 65 million. Compare that to the overall UK unemployment rate that hovers around 5% and you can see the beginning turmoil and damage to a generation raised on a promise.

The magnificence of AI is hitting white-collar, cognitive, university-track roles at the entry level first. These are the proverbial low-hanging fruit for AI to automate away. AI can easily replace or augment research, repetitive analysis and tasks, and all those little jobs that were assigned to most of us when we started out in our careers. The tasks now being automated were the ones that got you into the workforce. They got you into a company to advance in. You began building a professional network and built a community of colleagues that set the foundation of a lifetime of earnings. The generation of 20-24 year olds that were poised to start that same journey are finding themselves without a ticket to the dance and reading job postings they have not the experience for or personal connections to be considered for.

The overwhelming percentage of people earning minimum wage are the young, and this number is only increasing. Yes, they may be employed, but they are nowhere close to earning a living and building a career.

So, what can be done?

How do you begin your journey on the ladder of success when the first few rungs are missing? There must be course correction at the societal, governmental, and private sector levels. The MIT study should not be something that scares us, it should be what focuses us. We can see the tsunami coming from miles away, and we now have time to learn how to ride that wave and not just complain that it shouldn’t be coming. The age of AI is here, and the only question left is if we will be smart enough, agile enough, and brave enough to adjust.

Mark Minevich is recognized globally as a digital cognitive AI strategist, global social innovation and technology executive, UN advisor, author, columnist, private investor, and venture capitalist.

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