108 days of searching instead of 57, competition with experienced professionals, fear of automation and advice: "Learn to use AI tools"

As reported by CCTV+, job seekers in the United States are facing an increasingly uncertain and competitive market. The development of artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping the entry-level employment landscape.

Outside the Chase Center in San Francisco, long lines formed at a paid career fair for the sports and entertainment industries, highlighting the intense competition in the current economic climate.

Layla Dessouki, a job seeker, said: "It's tough out there. It's brutal. I've been looking for a job for nine months now. I'm worried about AI, especially as an entry-level candidate. We need those entry-level roles for people to be able to move into more senior positions."

Data from the job site Huntr confirms these concerns. The average time from starting a job search to receiving a first offer has nearly doubled — from 57 to 108 days.

Sam Wright, head of career strategy at Huntr, explained: "You could be competing with a mid-level worker who has lost their job. Competition has become fiercer, and that is forcing people to put in more effort. Technology makes that extra effort easier, which is why it is so important for early-career professionals to get used to using AI tools."

Miles Hickey, a recent graduate, believes that adapting to technology helps: "Integrating with the technology and making it accessible for others to learn and use — especially for the younger generation that is advancing technology — 100 percent think it helps."

Anousha Nejad, a student and sports journalism enthusiast, uses TikTok and Instagram to showcase her skills. She is confident: "There are some jobs that AI can partially do. But I don't think there are many jobs in the sports industry that AI can replace. Media, I don't think AI can replace that. Photography — that can't be replaced."

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang called the AI era "prime time" for skilled trades like electricians and plumbers. However, Wright warned: "Blue-collar jobs are certainly valuable, but there is a finite number of them as well. We don't need every single person in the economy to be a plumber."

Wright also noted that due to an aging population, healthcare remains a resilient sector. Some IT professionals are going back to school to become nurses.

A Goldman Sachs study shows that AI is already eliminating about 16,000 jobs per month in the US, with the brunt falling on young people. The unemployment rate gap between entry-level workers and experienced professionals has widened significantly. Meanwhile, the picture is different in Europe: the European Central Bank concluded that AI has not yet had a significant impact on employment, and companies actively using AI are even more likely to hire new staff. However, experts warn that the long-term effect remains uncertain.

In the Asia-Pacific region, 74% of companies have already implemented or are testing AI programmes, but only 21% are confident in their ability to hire and retain qualified professionals in this field. Two-thirds of organisations worldwide expect a slowdown in entry-level hiring over the next three years.

The International Labour Organisation projects that by 2027, global labour time losses could equate to 38 million jobs, with labour income possibly falling by US$3 trillion.

The job market is changing. The fear of AI is real. But there is only one way out — adapt. Graduates are competing not only with robots but also with more experienced colleagues who have lost their jobs. The time it takes to find a job has almost doubled. Those who do not know how to use AI tools are being filtered out by the market. The question is not whether AI will replace humans.

It will, but not everywhere. The question is how quickly people can retrain. While some panic, others are mastering TikTok and becoming nurses. Still others are confident: AI cannot beat photography or sport. Everyone has their own path. One thing is common: standing still is no longer an option. The future of work has already arrived — and it looks different in different parts of the world, but the need to adapt is universal.