Layoffs Stay Mild as AI Reshapes Job Entry, Not Displacement

The AI disruption narrative has inverted. Rather than mass unemployment, the actual pressure point is deteriorating entry conditions for young workers in creative and knowledge sectors. Employers are using AI to compress junior roles and flatten career ladders, reducing the pipeline positions that historically trained talent, even as total headcount remains relatively stable. This creates a subtler but potentially more damaging problem: a generation locked out of skill-building opportunities and professional networks before they can establish themselves.