What happened. According to IAB Australia’s 2026 talent review, published on 2 June, entry-level positions are only 1 per cent of open roles. Forty-nine per cent of vacancies require at least six years’ experience. The industry’s vacancy rate fell to 2.4 per cent, the lowest since measurement began. Eighty-eight per cent of the workforce is aged 25-49, and only 7.5 per cent is under 25. The jobs that were once young people’s way into the industry, such as social media coordination, PPC operations and content writing, are now run by AI. IAB Australia chief executive Gai Le Roy warns that the industry cannot focus only on short-term efficiency.
The bigger picture. The automated campaign tools of Google, Meta and Amazon now do exactly the work on these rungs. In the short term that is an efficiency gain. But the work getting cheaper today was the raw material of tomorrow’s senior judgement; today’s seniors learned by doing those jobs. If the raw material runs out, the bill for the savings arrives a few years later, when experienced people cannot be found.
For executives: Replace the entry-level jobs automation has emptied with a deliberate internship and training pipeline. Your senior team in five years will be made of the people you do not hire today.