INTERNATIONAL DESK — Employment of young software developers in the US has fallen by 20% since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, while jobs for middle-aged developers have grown by the same margin, according to data shared by The Kobeissi Letter. The figures track developers aged 22 to 25, the group that includes most fresh tech graduates.
Over the same period, employment of developers aged 26 to 30 slipped 4%. The picture is very different for experienced workers. Employment among developers aged 41 to 49 has surged 20%, while the 31 to 34 and 35 to 40 groups have also grown.
That has opened a 40 percentage point gap between the youngest and oldest groups. Entry-Level Work Is Drying Up The data comes from the Canaries Dashboard of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, built with payroll data from ADP Research. It places software developers among the jobs most exposed to AI.
AI coding tools now handle much of the routine work once given to junior developers, such as writing basic code, fixing bugs and testing. Companies can get that work done with fewer new hires, while experienced developers who can review and guide AI output stay in demand. Stanford researchers, however, say the trend shows a link rather than proof that AI alone caused the decline.