The AI Shift: Swiss Study Reveals Sharp Decline in Entry-Level Job Openings

The widespread adoption of artificial intelligence is fundamentally altering the corporate hiring landscape, with entry-level and junior professionals bearing the brunt of the transition. According to a comprehensive new study published by Swiss job portal jobs.ch, the number of advertised junior positions has dropped significantly as companies increasingly automate routine tasks.

The study, which analyzed more than 7.3 million job advertisements, compared recent hiring data against the “pre-AI” baseline period of 2019 to 2022. The findings reveal that the overall share of entry-level roles advertised in Switzerland was 32% lower in 2025 than the pre-2023 average.

Finance, IT, and Administration Hit Hardest

The impact of AI automation is not distributed evenly across the workforce. The report highlights that corporate departments heavily reliant on data processing, content generation, and routine analysis have seen the sharpest declines. Specifically, junior roles in finance, accounting, administration, marketing, and IT have been the most exposed to this technological shift.

Interestingly, even within sectors highly exposed to AI, the demand for personnel has polarized:

• Senior Roles Rose by 26%: Companies are actively seeking experienced professionals who can manage AI tools, oversee complex strategies, and leverage technical systems.
• Junior Roles Fell by 16%: Entry-level positions within these same AI-exposed sectors saw a steep decline, as automated systems increasingly absorb the task-based work traditionally assigned to recent graduates and trainees.

Simultaneously, the skill requirements for white-collar workers are evolving rapidly. True technical AI skills are no longer confined to the IT department; employers across all business functions are now actively seeking candidates who possess AI literacy and the ability to integrate automation into daily workflows.

The “Blue-Collar” Exception and AI FOBO

In contrast to the corporate office space, demand for junior workers remains remarkably strong in sectors that require physical labor, specialized trades, or human-centric care. Healthcare, construction, and the skilled trades continue to experience severe, persistent labor shortages, largely remaining insulated from the immediate disruptions of digital automation.

However, the rapid disappearance of traditional white-collar entry points is taking a psychological toll on the incoming workforce. In a survey of more than 3,600 employees included in the study, 41% of workers under the age of 25 confessed to experiencing “AI FOBO”—the Fear Of Becoming Obsolete. These young professionals express growing anxiety that their skills are losing value in the workplace before their careers have even fully begun.

For business owners and corporate leaders, the Swiss data underscores a critical long-term challenge: while AI can drive immediate back-office cost savings, companies must find new ways to train and mentor the next generation of professionals if traditional entry-level pipelines disappear.

Source: Adapted from the ACCA Global Media Bulletin. View the original coverage via ACCA AB Direct.