Is AI Mainly Being Used to Stop Hiring Young Workers

Through September, U.S. employers announced 573,195 job cuts, with AI cited in 120,136 of them, more than any other reason this year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Stanford economists using ADP payroll data found that as of June, employment among 22- to 25-year-olds in the most AI-exposed occupations was about 19% below where it would be if it had kept pace with less-exposed jobs, a gap that widened from 15% a year earlier, working "primarily through reduced hiring of young workers rather than increased separations." The piece also notes consumer prices rose 3.7% in the year through September, average annual family health coverage contributions reached $7,471 (up 9% from 2025) while wages rose only 3.7%, and PJM's independent market monitor estimated data centers caused 63% of the 2025/2026 price increase, about $9.3 billion in costs.