Remote Work, Not AI, is Stalling Junior Hiring

For the past couple of years, AI has been the convenient scapegoat for the slowdown in entry-level hiring. But what if remote work is the real villain of the piece? That's what two researchers are saying after analyzing data from 243 million new hires alongside 407 million job postings in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

Peter John Lambert from the London School of Economics and Yannick Schindler from the Ellison Institute of Technology took a close look at the numbers. Their findings? Remote work is a much stronger predictor of weaker junior hiring than the presence of AI. In other words, it's not that AI is gobbling up entry-level jobs. it's that working from home is making it harder to onboard and train young employees.

The Remote Work Conundrum

It's a bold claim, especially when you consider that the narrative around AI tells us it's out for everyone's jobs. However, Lambert and Schindler argue that remote work increases the cost of supervising and training junior staff, making companies think twice about bringing them on board.

It's not just about the technology, but the organizational shifts that remote work demands. With work-from-home setups, companies face higher costs to monitor and train new hires, and it can erode the drive to invest in fresh talent. Ask yourself, if you can't effectively supervise new employees, why hire them in the first place?

Numbers Don't Lie

By 2025, jobs with high remote-work exposure saw a 4-to-5 percentage point larger decline in junior hiring compared to roles less suited for remote work. That's a significant drop, and one that's beginning to show up in the unemployment rates for recent college grads, which hit 5.7% in early 2026, a full percentage point above the general workforce.

Let's not pretend AI isn't changing things. it's. Companies are automating tasks once handed to junior staff, pushing them into more complex roles sooner. But blaming AI for the hiring slump misses the point. In fact, entry-level hiring fell by 29% from pre-pandemic levels in the US alone. If remote work continues to hold its ground, companies might have to rethink how they train and manage young employees in this hybrid world.

Time for a Rethink?

No one is saying AI won't eventually shake up labor markets. It probably will. But for now, it seems the work-from-home revolution is the bigger factor in junior hiring woes. So, what's the takeaway for businesses? Maybe it's time to invest in better remote training tools or rethink how you onboard new talent. After all, the gap between the keynote and the cubicle is enormous.

The real story here isn't about AI taking jobs. It's about how companies adapt to a world where remote work makes traditional supervision and training models obsolete. Whether businesses will rise to the challenge remains to be seen, but one thing's certain: the old ways aren't cutting it anymore.