AI Automation May Push New Graduate Unemployment to 30%, Says ServiceNow CEO
ServiceNow chief executive Bill McDermott warned that AI could sharply worsen job prospects for recent graduates. He said current graduate unemployment sits near 9% and could rise into the mid-30s within a few years. Filmogaz.com contacted ServiceNow for comment.
Mass deployment of digital agents
McDermott predicted roughly three billion non-human digital agents will be added to companies by 2030. He argued these agents will take over many routine tasks once assigned to entry- and mid-level staff.
Current unemployment and labor trends
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports 5.6% unemployment for recent U.S. college graduates aged 22 to 27. That compares with 4.2% unemployment for the general population.
An analysis of Federal Reserve data from November 2025 found U.S. job postings fell nearly 32% since the arrival of ChatGPT in 2022. In February 2026, the U.S. unexpectedly lost 92,000 jobs, the largest monthly drop since last October.
Early-career hiring is shrinking
A Kickresume study showed about 58% of Gen Z graduates from 2024 and 2025 still sought first jobs. By contrast, previous cohorts of millennials and Gen X reported roughly 25% in similar searches.
Handshake recorded a more than 16% decline in job postings between August 2024 and August 2025. The platform also reported applications per role rose about 26%.
A 2025 SignalFire report found hiring for new graduates at 15 top tech firms fell by over 50% since 2019. Before the pandemic, Gen Z made up 15% of Big Tech hires; now they account for 7%.
Comments from AI and economic leaders
Geoffrey Hinton warned wealthy actors could use AI to replace workers, raising unemployment risks. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicted half of white-collar jobs could be automated by 2030.
OpenAI’s Sam Altman said AI is moving from intern-level capabilities to those of experienced engineers. J. Scott Davis of the Dallas Fed noted that returns to job experience rise in AI-exposed occupations.
Davis warned that young workers with mainly codifiable knowledge will face more difficult job markets.
What this means for graduates
Company leaders now debate whether this shift reflects AI automation or a correction of pandemic-era hiring. Many agree that entry-level roles face the greatest threat.
Policy makers and employers may need to expand reskilling and targeted hiring programs. The rise of AI automation and threats to new graduate unemployment at levels approaching 30% were key concerns cited by the ServiceNow CEO.
