AI could make it harder for freshers to land tech jobs, Anthropic report warns- Moneycontrol.com
The findings highlight how AI adoption could affect job opportunities for fresh graduates and early-career technology professionals, even as companies continue to expand their overall workforce
October 18, 2026 / 21:28 IST
The changing nature of work is also influencing recruitment decisions, with hiring managers increasingly prioritising independent judgment, adaptability and the ability to use AI tools over narrow technical expertise.
- Anthropic junior technical hires dropped from 27% to 9%.
- AI agents worked six times more hours than human handlers.
- Hiring now prioritizes judgment and AI tool adaptability.
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Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has seen the share of junior technical hires fall sharply from 27% to 9% as growing use of AI tools changes recruitment priorities and reduces demand for entry-level technical roles, according to a research report by the company.
The findings highlight how AI adoption could affect job opportunities for fresh graduates and early-career technology professionals, even as companies continue to expand their overall workforce.
In its technical research report, titled “How Employment is Changing at Anthropic,” The Anthropic Institute said, “The share of junior-level employees in technical departments at Anthropic slipped from 21% to 14% since early 2025. The proportion of junior technical hires fell even faster, from 27% to 9%.”
The report, which draws on internal employment, hiring and productivity data as well as 17 employee interviews, found that engineering and research teams had reduced their focus on lower-level technical recruitment by April 2026.
It stated, “Around a third of ML and a fifth of SWE managers reported hiring less due to AI.”
The shift comes as AI agents increasingly take over tasks traditionally handled by employees, particularly coding, debugging and other routine technical work.
By August 2026, AI agents directed by employees were working six times as many hours as their human counterparts. The report said, “By August the agents worked 6 times as many hours as their human handlers.”
The growing use of AI has also coincided with significant productivity gains. Code commits per engineer rose to five times their level six months earlier, while employees in sales, legal and finance functions also recorded higher output.
However, the report cautioned that higher output does not necessarily lead to better business results, and AI adoption alone may not explain every productivity improvement.
The changing nature of work is also influencing hiring decisions. Recruitment managers are increasingly prioritising independent judgment, adaptability and the ability to use AI tools over specialised technical skills that can be automated.
The report observed, “Increasingly, hiring managers assess applicants based on their judgment and commitment, rather than the domain-specific skills and execution automated by AI tools.”
Despite the declining share of junior technical positions, Anthropic's overall workforce has continued to grow, with technical hiring also increasing in absolute numbers.
However, the findings raise wider concerns about entry-level job opportunities as companies increasingly automate routine tasks.
Acknowledging the challenge, the report stated, “Employment protections for incumbents will not benefit those not hired to begin with.”
It added that government policies supporting worker retraining and income protection would be needed to address the wider employment disruptions caused by AI.
*With Agency Inputs
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