AI Hits 20s and 30s in Professional and IT Sectors... Growing Concerns Over Job Replacement

About 130,000 Fewer Jobs for People in Their 20s and 30s
"AI Advances May Lead to 'Dark Factories'"

The rapid spread of artificial intelligence (AI) is causing a swift decline in youth employment in white-collar industries. As the pace of AI advancement accelerates, experts are advising that measures are needed to prepare for the medium- to long-term changes in the labor structure.

On the 23rd, many job seekers visiting the 2025 Mid-sized Enterprises Job Fair held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are looking over the job postings bulletin board. 2025.4.23 Photo by Yongjun Cho

According to labor force statistics released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on the 30th, the number of people employed in "professional, scientific and technical services" as of last month was 1,373,000, a decrease of 105,000 compared to the same month last year. Employment in the "information and communications" sector was 1,119,000, a decrease of 42,000 over the same period. This is the first time since the spread of COVID-19 in 2021 that the number of employed people has declined in both sectors as of February. The "professional, scientific and technical services" category includes not only lawyers and accountants, but also scientific researchers, while the "information and communications" sector encompasses most occupations with heavy AI utilization, such as software development, computer programming, and information services.

The decline in employment is particularly pronounced among people in their 20s and 30s. In these two sectors, the number of employed in their 20s and 30s decreased by 97,000 and 34,000, respectively, accounting for about 89% of the total decline. In contrast, the number of employed in their 50s and those aged 60 or older increased by 12,000 and 2,000, respectively, over the same period. The proportion of people in their 20s and 30s in these sectors fell from 51.7% in February last year to 49.5% last month.

The trend of declining youth employment in white-collar sectors due to the spread of AI is also evident in other studies. In its report "The Spread of AI and the Contraction of Youth Employment," released in October last year, the Bank of Korea analyzed that, from July 2022 to July last year—after the launch of OpenAI's generative AI model ChatGPT—youth employment (ages 15 to 29) decreased by 11.2% in computer programming, systems integration and management, by 20.4% in publishing, by 8.8% in professional services, and by 23.8% in information services. The report noted that "there are both optimism, fear, and skepticism about the potential impact of rapidly advancing and spreading AI on the labor market," but also emphasized that "it is certain that the new technology will affect jobs, occupations, and industries in different ways."

In the United States, where the AI industry is highly developed, it has already become common for AI to replace youth jobs, especially among big tech companies. According to U.S. consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the total number of layoffs announced by U.S. big tech companies from January to November last year reached 1.17 million, up 54% from the previous year's 760,000. Of these, 54,694 cases—about 5%—specifically cited AI as the direct reason for the layoffs. Joseph Briggs, head of global economics research at Goldman Sachs, explained that the unemployment rate among tech workers in their 20s and 30s in the U.S. is higher than that of their peers in other sectors.

Experts warn that the shock of AI technology advancements to jobs for people in their 20s and 30s is likely to become even more frequent in the future. U.S. market research firm Citrene Research has forecast that, due to AI advancements, the unemployment rate in the U.S. will reach 10.2% in June 2028. The U.S. unemployment rate last month, during what was described as an "employment shock," was 4.4%.

Kang Insu, professor of economics at Sookmyung Women's University, explained, "With the emergence of AI agents and humanoids, tasks that could be performed by new employees are now being done by these technologies, leading to a decline in jobs. In the future, due to concerns about labor costs and labor-management relations, we may see the rise of so-called 'dark factories.'" A dark factory refers to a fully automated plant that operates 24/7, 365 days a year without human intervention, utilizing AI and robotics technologies.

There are also calls for measures to protect vulnerable groups in society amid this restructuring of the labor structure. Kim Sunghee, director of the Industrial Labor Policy Research Institute, diagnosed that "in the medium to long term, human labor will become even cheaper due to AI." He added, "If the labor market is undergoing transformation, there need to be policies to supplement incomes or support career transitions. Currently, unemployment benefits are paid for up to about nine months, but we should consider long-term education programs to help people move into highly skilled occupations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.