Shrinking Job Market in the AI Era? Experts Advise Focusing on Evolving Roles

[Anchor]

The youth employment chill is severe, with the youth unemployment rate last month (June 2026) marking its largest increase in five years and six months. Concerns are growing among young job seekers, especially as artificial intelligence replaces existing jobs.

Reporter Sim Useop explores how the employment threshold is changing in the AI era.

[Reporter]

University student Kim Gyu-ri has led a passionate campus life while dreaming of a career in finance.

She practically lived in the library, earning certificates one by one, including a licensed real estate agent certificate, asset manager license, and investment asset manager license. However, she feels deeply anxious seeing the rapid expansion of AI.

[Kim Gyu-ri / University Student : Because companies mainly hire experienced workers, I feel even more anxious, and I think people feel anxious because AI reduces new entry-level hiring. To be honest, I started studying for certificates because I was clueless about what to do at first, but now I am not even sure if it has any meaning.]

A recent survey of 1,000 office workers showed that translators and general administrative staff, followed by accounting and financial professionals, and lawyers, were chosen as the occupations most likely to take a hit from AI.

Lee Chae-ryoung, who majored in Korean language and literature, is working as an intern at a major digital systems-related corporation.

She says she gained valuable experience over the past six months handling various marketing tasks using AI.

[Lee Chae-ryoung / LG CNS Intern : Seeing firsthand what tools are heavily used and in what aspects companies utilize AI, I think there will be plenty of things I can appeal during future interviews. I interpret this a lot as companies requiring different capabilities from applicants.]

In fact, many companies recently ask applicants during interviews about their project experience conducted using AI tools, as well as the limitations they felt during the process and ways to improve them.

This means that since AI handles simple tasks, companies place high importance on evaluating judgment and leadership abilities in entry-level applicants that were previously expected of experienced workers.

[Kim Duk-jin / Adjunct Professor, School of Business, University of Seoul : Companies right now want people who can actually perform tasks alongside AI tools, show how they solved things that AI couldn't through their own deep knowledge while doing so, and state that 'such abilities can be utilized by me within the company.']

Ultimately, as AI grows, the human domain is not shrinking, but rather roles are shifting. Experts advise getting closer to AI within your own field in a more proactive manner.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Reported by Lee Moo-jin | Video by Park Ji-in | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.