One in three young people from Generation Z soon to be unemployed because of AI: the warning issued by Bill McDermott, CEO of ServiceNowhas put a lot of pressure on 20-30 year olds entering the job market. This generation born between 1997 and 2012 is already the one who grew up with social networks, it could also become the one who comes up against agents doped with artificial intelligence.
In France, an IPSOS survey carried out at the beginning of June 2025 and cited by Science & Life indicates that 37% of workers fear the impact of AI on their jobs. The British Standards Institution even speaks of an “employment apocalypse” for Generation Z. Should we really prepare to see youth unemployment explode, or does this discourse primarily serve the interests of a big American tech boss?
Gen Z unemployment and AI: What does ServiceNow CEO really say?
Guest of the show Squawk on the Street on CNBC, Bill McDermott warns: “I think it’s completely natural to worry about jobs. I believe that young people leaving university today have an unemployment rate of 9%. I think this rate could easily reach 35% in the next two years.” In other words, almost one in three young graduates is unemployed, largely because of agents driven by AI.
The CEO adds that “a lot of the work is going to be done by agents, so it will be difficult for young people to differentiate themselves in the corporate environment”, and goes so far as to promise: “We will have billions of users in the next few years that we could never have achieved with human beings”, as reported Futurism. Gold ServiceNow is precisely repositioning its cloud platform towards these agents, by joining forces with OpenAI. The American site even notes that a slight stock market rebound accompanied these statements. This 35% scenario therefore remains a projection from an interested actor, not an official forecast.
Why is AI primarily targeting Generation Z’s first jobs?
Where Bill McDermott hits the nail on the head is on the nature of automated tasks. AI mainly targets administration, customer service, data entry or analysis, simple debugging or information retrieval. Exactly what we traditionally entrust to interns, work-study students and juniors of Generation Z. For the British Standards Institution, this massive automation of career entry tasks justifies the expression “employment apocalypse”.
According to a BSI study cited by The Dispatch43% of French managers admit to using AI to reduce headcount and 26% say they have already eliminated or rationalized junior positions. Large groups are making priority cuts in these first levels, while SMEs remain a relative refuge where on-the-job training retains weight. Generation Z is therefore the first cohort to enter a market where these tools are already widely deployed.
Generation Z facing AI-related unemployment: how to stay ahead?
Science & Life reminds us: there are no official statistics yet on the number of jobs destroyed by AI, but all experts anticipate an increase in its impact. Young people’s room for maneuver therefore depends on their skills. Training in AI tools, understanding how agents work, learning to automate simple tasks or write effective prompts becomes a real plus on a CV.
At the same time, skills that are difficult to automate are gaining value: creation (design, video, writing, marketing), relationships (negotiation, teamwork, customer management) and strategic analysis. A junior capable of using agents while bringing creativity and human judgment remains clearly more attractive than an interchangeable performer.
Finally, on the targeting side, young people from generation Z have an interest in looking beyond the tech giants: SMEs, sectors in tension and field professions still offer trajectories where the human presence remains central. The question is no longer whether AI will shake up youth unemployment, but who will choose to learn to play with these agents rather than against them.