Ireland study finds AI may be weakening job prospects for young graduates, with tech employment among 15–29 year-olds falling 20%

DUBLIN: ​Early evidence suggests artificial intelligence is weakening employment opportunities in some parts of Ireland’s technology-focused economy, particularly for young graduates, ⁠research by Ireland’s finance department found.

Ireland’s strong labour market is relatively more exposed ​to AI than the average advanced economy given ‌a high concentration of jobs ​in so-called knowledge-intensive sectors such as tech, science and financial services, the finance department said.

Employment in categories at risk of ​AI disruption, which include tech and financial services, grew at ⁠around ‌4% between 2023 ​and 2025, compared with ​4.5% among medium-risk companies, and 6.25% in the ​low-risk category.

Employment among 15 to 29 year-olds in the “at risk” cohort fell by 1% over that period and by 20% among technology firms alone, even as employment ‌among tech workers aged 30 to 59 grew 12% during that period.

The research also found that in sectors with lower AI exposure, employment growth among younger workers outpaced that of older ⁠workers.

While the ‌researchers said that indicated the results cannot be explained by a downturn among younger workers more broadly, they ​also said it may be premature to attribute the ​changes solely ​to AI-driven substitution effects.

Finance Minister Simon Harris ‌said ​the analysis suggests Ireland may be at the frontier of AI labour market changes and that the government must invest in up-skilling and re-skilling workers ​in exposed sectors.

 The Sun Malaysia