A Stanford study found a 13% employment drop for young workers in AI-exposed jobs

In the Stanford Digital Economy Lab study “Canaries in the Coal Mine?” (November 13, 2025), economists Erik Brynjolfsson, Bharat Chandar, and Ruyu Chen found that workers aged 22 to 25 in the occupations most exposed to generative AI experienced a roughly 13 percent relative decline in employment since AI came into wide use in late 2022 (some specifications put the figure as high as 16 percent). Employment for older, more experienced workers in the same occupations, and for workers in less-exposed fields, stayed stable or grew. The study used individual-level payroll records from ADP and found the adjustment showed up in headcount rather than wages, concentrated where AI tends to automate rather than augment work.