King's College London

A new study, conducted by Dr Bouke Klein Teeselink, of King’s College London, analysed millions of job postings and LinkedIn profiles from 2021 to 2025. It was found that the public release of ChatGPT in November 2022 marked a turning point, with its impact varying dramatically based on how susceptible different jobs are to automation by large language models (LLMs).

Firms whose workforces are highly exposed to AI capabilities reduced total employment by 4.5 per cent on average, with the effect concentrated almost entirely in junior positions, which fell by 5.8 per cent.

This shift in workforce composition, fewer entry-level roles and a higher proportion of senior staff, pushed up average pay within those companies by more than £1,300, even as demand for certain highly skilled occupations fell.

The most pronounced effects were seen in hiring intentions. Highly exposed firms became 16.3 percentage points less likely to post new vacancies. Technical roles like software engineers and data analysts saw the steepest declines in job listings, while customer-facing positions such as sales representatives saw a slight increase.

Dr Klein Teeselink noted the increase in customer-facing roles as more technical roles declined “suggests customer-facing roles requiring direct interpersonal interaction remain resilient to LLM disruption”.

At the occupation level, highly exposed roles saw a substantial 23.4 per cent drop in job postings and a £2,951 (6.3 per cent) decrease in advertised salaries. These roles also became more likely to offer remote work.

Disruption in the labour market was found to be concentrated in higher-wage segments. High-paying firms saw employment fall by 9.6 per cent, compared to almost no change in low-paying firms. Similarly, high-salary occupations experienced a 34.2 per cent decline in job postings.

Dr Klein Teeselink added the particularly significant impact on job losses on entry-level positions would have implications for skill development and would need to be closely watched by policy-makers.

He said: “The concentration of job losses among entry-level positions disrupts traditional skill development pathways where workers master progressively complex tasks through hands-on experience.

“Without junior roles serving as training grounds, firms may struggle to develop senior talent internally while new entrants face shrinking opportunities to gain experience.

“The sharp reductions in technical and analytical roles alongside resilience in sales positions indicates that human interaction and relationship-building skills remain valuable complements to LLM capabilities, suggesting that retraining programs should emphasise these interpersonal competencies.”