Gen Z college graduates are eager to launch their careers but are instead hitting a wall.
“At PwC, our entry-level numbers are lower this year, reflecting the wider slowdown in investment, hiring and deal-making across the economy.”
By the numbers, the accounting and consultancy company is hiring 200 fewer entry-level talent this year (1,300 versus 1,500). For a young Amitrano, this pullback could have been life-changing; after all, he started his career 33 years ago through to a PwC entry-level role. Today, however, the landscape looks different, with AI partly to blame for the (potentially temporary) slowdown for young people.
Yet this balance may not last forever. Our research shows that job postings for AI-exposed occupations are growing at a slower pace compared to those with lower exposure—and this gap is widening.”
Amitrano cited struggling productivity as the single biggest contributor behind a lower graduate intake at PwC this year.
“Right now, many businesses—both domestic and international—are watching and waiting,” he wrote for The Times. “Activity is improving, but it’s still far removed from the levels of investment, hiring and deal-making that we saw immediately after the pandemic.”
Fortune reached out to PwC for further comment.
PwC is not alone in admitting its workforce is shrinking, thanks in part to AI.
“It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.”
