The Permanent Underclass
The middle class has an expiration date.
Youth unemployment tends to be a leading indicator of economic downturns. The vibes and anecdotes about A.I. labor market displacement are growing.
Customer service reps, receptionists, and data entry clerks seeing mass automation. Entry-level roles eliminated by AI scheduling and communication systems.
Survey of 1,006 global executives reveals layoffs are happening in anticipation of AI's impact, not because of actual productivity gains.
IMF's Georgieva warns entry-level roles are among the most vulnerable to automation. "Tasks that are eliminated are usually what entry-level jobs do."
AI-pocalypse: 6.1 percent of jobs in the US could be wiped out by 2030—equating to 10.4 million fewer positions held by humans today.
Routine cognitive work is being automated rapidly, entry-level knowledge positions are vanishing. This isn't a distant future—it's the employment reality of 2026.