Entry-Level Tech Job Postings in New York City Fell 49% in Three Years as AI Reshapes the Hiring Ladder
Entry-level job postings for computer and mathematical occupations in New York City fell 49% between 2022 and 2025, the steepest drop of any occupational field tracked by the nonprofit Center for an Urban Future. The findings, published in a September 2026 policy report titled “Strengthening NYC’s Entry-Level Tech Pathways in the Age of AI,” paint a detailed picture of a labor market where overall tech employment has remained relatively stable — but the first rung of the career ladder is buckling under the weight of automation, post-pandemic hiring corrections, and a generative AI wave that has rewritten what companies expect from junior hires.
Key Takeaways
- Entry-level tech job postings in New York City dropped 49% from 2022 to 2025 — the largest decline of any occupational field.
- Office and administrative support entry-level postings fell 36%; business and financial operations saw similar declines.
- Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media entry-level roles declined 34% over the same period.
- Overall tech employment in the city held steady, suggesting companies are automating junior-level tasks rather than eliminating entire departments.
- A New York Federal Reserve Bank survey found 60% of NYC service firms now use AI, up from 40% a year ago.
- NYC Comptroller Mark Levine warned AI could cost the city 300,000 jobs and $14 billion in tax revenue under a worst-case scenario.
The Numbers Behind the Decline in Entry-Level Tech Hiring
The Center for an Urban Future — a New York City-based think tank that has tracked the local tech economy for over a decade — compiled its analysis using job-posting data across multiple occupational categories. The headline figure, 49%, covers “computer and mathematical” roles, a classification that includes software developers, data analysts, IT support positions, and related functions that once served as reliable entry points for recent graduates and career changers.
Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the Center for an Urban Future, framed the contraction in stark terms. Entry-level postings, Bowles said, had “fallen off a cliff.” The roles that previously drew young workers into the tech sector — positions that often came with salaries averaging around $89,000 — are now substantially harder to find, with intense competition among applicants for those that remain.
The decline was not confined to tech. Entry-level postings in office and administrative support roles fell 36%, and business and financial operations saw a parallel drop. Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media — a sector that encompasses a large share of New York City’s creative workforce — lost 34% of its entry-level listings. The pattern points to something broader than a single-industry correction: the occupations most exposed to generative AI tools are the same ones pulling back hardest on junior hiring.
AI Adoption Is Accelerating Across New York City’s Business Landscape
The timeline of the job-posting decline aligns with a dramatic expansion of AI adoption among New York City employers. A Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey released earlier in September found that 60% of service firms in the region now use AI, up from 40% one year ago. Among manufacturers, the adoption rate doubled to 50%.
The Federal Reserve’s data introduces a nuance that the job-posting numbers alone do not capture. Only about 5% of surveyed firms said they had reduced headcount because of AI. Ten percent reported hiring more workers, particularly those with AI-specific skills. The most common outcome was not layoffs but retraining — a recalibration of existing roles rather than wholesale elimination. The New York Fed titled its findings “Businesses Are Using AI to Transform Work, Not Cut Jobs,” a framing that holds at the aggregate level but does not account for the workers who never got through the door in the first place.
For entry-level candidates, the distinction between “we didn’t fire anyone” and “we stopped hiring juniors” has real economic consequences. The Center for an Urban Future found that companies with the highest generative AI exposure saw the sharpest reductions in entry-level postings. At the same time, entry-level postings for positions requiring AI skills grew 20% since 2022, spread across professional services, finance, healthcare, and education. The demand has not disappeared — it has shifted toward a narrower, more specialized skill set that many recent graduates do not yet have.
Training Programs and Universities Are Feeling the Pressure
The Marcy Lab School, a New York City-based tech training organization that runs fellowship programs in software engineering and data analytics, reported a 35% decline in its employment rate since 2023. Per Scholas, a free tech training program operating across the city, has seen similar headwinds. Both organizations have invested in retooling their curricula to reflect what employers are now looking for, but the hiring slowdown has outpaced those adjustments.
At the university level, CUNY’s University Dean for Technology and Computer & Information Sciences announced a partnership in January 2026 with the Last Mile Education Fund to provide financial support for students transitioning into tech careers. Cornell Tech, by contrast, has seen its graduates move into AI-focused startups and finance roles, producing 130 startups — a 40% increase in two years. The divergence underscores a widening gap: institutions connected to the AI pipeline are thriving, while programs focused on traditional entry-level pathways are struggling to place graduates.
New York State has begun to respond. Governor Kathy Hochul launched FutureWorks Commission listening sessions in August 2026, specifically targeting workers — particularly women — whose roles have been reshaped or replaced by AI. Women make up 84% of employment in administrative back-office positions in New York, a category facing some of the steepest entry-level declines. The state has also imposed a statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data center construction while regulators develop environmental and energy standards — a signal that Albany is weighing the infrastructure demands of AI alongside its workforce consequences.
City Comptroller Raises Long-Term Economic Alarm
NYC Comptroller Mark Levine has emerged as one of the most vocal public officials sounding the alarm about AI’s trajectory in the city. In a May 2026 report using Moody’s Analytics data, Levine’s office estimated that AI could cost New York City 300,000 jobs and $14 billion in tax revenue under the most disruptive scenario. A more moderate projection showed AI generating 52,000 new private-sector jobs per year, but even that outlook assumed significant displacement across middle-skill occupations.
Levine amplified the Center for an Urban Future findings on social media in September, writing that the city is “sleepwalking into the age of AI.” The Comptroller pointed to the disconnect between stable overall tech employment figures and the steep drop in entry-level hiring, warning that the pattern is “showing up in other AI-exposed professions as well.” The concern is not only about job losses today, but about the erosion of the pathways that allow younger and lower-income New Yorkers to build careers in one of the city’s highest-paying sectors.
The Career Ladder Question Facing New York City
The tech sector still employs roughly 172,000 people in New York City, and the city now has more tech workers than the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time, according to CBRE’s 2026 Scoring Tech Talent report. New York is home to more than 25,000 homegrown tech startups. None of those numbers are in retreat.
What is shrinking is the bottom of the pipeline. The Center for an Urban Future’s report argued that when the first jobs to disappear sit at the bottom of the ladder, workers lose more than openings — they lose the route toward the experience that employers demand later. For a city that has positioned its tech sector as a vehicle for economic mobility, particularly through CUNY programs and nonprofit training organizations, the entry-level contraction threatens to undermine a decade of workforce development investments.
The City Council is preparing to hold a rare Committee of the Whole hearing on AI on October 5, at which all 51 members will be invited to participate. Council Speaker Julie Menin has summoned the CEOs of both OpenAI and Anthropic to testify. That hearing, paired with New York State’s RAISE Act set to take effect January 1, 2027, suggests that the regulatory conversation around AI in New York is accelerating — driven not by hypothetical risk, but by data showing the ladder is already shorter than it was three years ago.
FAQs
How Much Have Entry-Level Tech Job Postings Declined in New York City?
Entry-level job postings for computer and mathematical occupations in New York City fell 49% between 2022 and 2025, according to the Center for an Urban Future. This represents the steepest decline of any occupational field tracked in the organization’s analysis.
Is Overall Tech Employment in New York City Also Declining?
Overall tech employment in New York City has remained relatively stable despite the sharp reduction in entry-level postings. The data suggests companies are automating junior-level tasks and shifting hiring toward candidates with AI-specific skills rather than cutting positions across entire departments.
What Other Industries Are Seeing Entry-Level Job Declines in NYC?
Office and administrative support roles saw a 36% decline in entry-level postings, and business and financial operations experienced a similar drop. Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media — a significant sector for New York City’s creative economy — lost 34% of its entry-level listings during the same period.
What Is New York City Doing to Address AI’s Impact on the Workforce?
The NYC City Council is convening a rare full-body hearing on AI on October 5, 2026, with all 51 members invited. At the state level, Governor Hochul has launched FutureWorks Commission listening sessions targeting displaced workers, and New York’s RAISE Act — which establishes safety and reporting requirements for AI developers — is set to take effect on January 1, 2027.
