What does the RSM Workforce 2026 report say about AI and entry-level hiring?

RSM's Workforce 2026 special report, based on a Q4 2025 survey of 405 respondents across mid-market firms, found that 45% are already using AI in place of some entry-level hiring. An additional 74% plan to increase AI spending over the next two years. This is not a prediction — 45% of mid-market firms have made this substitution already. The roles most commonly affected: junior research and analysis positions, administrative coordination, document preparation, and data entry/processing roles previously staffed at the associate or coordinator level.

What entry-level roles are being replaced by AI in professional services firms?

Based on RSM's data and parallel industry surveys, the roles most commonly substituted first: junior accounting associates handling bookkeeping, reconciliation, and data entry; research associates in consulting firms conducting market research, competitive analysis, and report formatting; legal support staff handling document review, deposition preparation, and matter organization; administrative coordinators managing scheduling, intake processing, and status communication. Common characteristic: high-volume, rule-based output where accuracy is measurable and judgment is minimal.

Should a small professional services firm also skip entry-level hires?

The math depends on your workflow. AI tools now handle a significant portion of what a $45,000-$60,000 entry-level associate would do — at a fraction of the cost. But the substitution is not complete: complex client communication, judgment calls, relationship management, and irregular situations still require human handling. The decision framework: map your planned hire's actual daily tasks. If more than 60-70% of those tasks are rule-based, high-volume, and evaluable by output quality — AI can likely cover that portion at a fraction of the cost. The remaining 30-40% of higher-judgment work either absorbs into existing staff or defines what you actually need from a human hire.

What does this mean for staffing firms that place entry-level professional services workers?

This is a structural demand compression, not a temporary dip. If 45% of mid-market firms have already substituted AI for some entry-level hiring, and 74% plan to increase AI spending, the pool of entry-level placement opportunities in professional services is shrinking. Staffing firms most exposed: those specializing in generalist placement of junior accountants, research associates, legal support staff, and administrative coordinators at professional services firms. The defensive posture: move upmarket toward mid-level specialist placement, add AI-proficiency assessment as a differentiator, and reposition around roles where human judgment is non-substitutable.

What does 'using AI in place of entry-level hiring' actually look like in practice?

A common pattern: a growing accounting firm that would have hired a second bookkeeping coordinator instead deploys QuickBooks AI automation and Fathom for financial reporting — eliminating the need for that coordinator role. A consulting firm that would have hired a junior research analyst instead uses Claude or Perplexity Pro for background research and market analysis — the partner does a review layer, not line-by-line research. A law firm that would have hired a paralegal for document review instead uses CoCounsel to handle contract analysis — the associate handles exceptions. The hire doesn't happen. Or it happens at a different level, for higher-judgment work.

RSM 2026: AI Is Replacing Entry-Level Hires

Published: March 2026 | By: The Crossing Report | 7 min read

RSM's Workforce 2026 report surveyed 405 mid-market firms in Q4 2025. Forty-five percent are already using AI in place of some entry-level hiring.

Not considering it. Not planning it. Already doing it.

That number tells you something important: the substitution of AI for entry-level roles is not a theoretical future event. It's happening now at the firms one tier above yours. And 74% of respondents say they plan to increase AI spending over the next two years.

Here's what that means for your firm — whether you're the one making the hiring decision, or the staffing firm that places those hires.

What Entry-Level AI Substitution Actually Looks Like

It doesn't look like a dramatic "we're replacing staff with robots" announcement. It looks like a quiet skip.

A firm that was going to hire a junior research associate doesn't post the job. They give the senior consultant a Claude subscription and an afternoon to test it on the next deliverable. The deliverable comes back at 90% of what the associate would have done, in a fraction of the time. The job posting never goes up.

A growing accounting firm that was going to hire a second bookkeeping coordinator deploys QuickBooks AI and a Fathom integration for reporting instead. The headcount doesn't change. Neither does the workload — because the AI absorbs it.

A law firm that was about to hire a second paralegal tries CoCounsel on its contract review queue first. The paralegal search pauses. Six months later, it's quietly dropped.

This is how 45% happens. One quiet decision at a time.

The Roles Most Affected

RSM's data doesn't break down substitution by role type, but parallel surveys and field reporting converge on the same categories:

Junior research and analysis — Consulting associates who synthesize market data, format competitive analyses, and produce background research memos. AI handles the information aggregation and structural output; senior staff handle interpretation and client framing.

Bookkeeping and data processing — Entry-level accounting roles focused on transaction entry, reconciliation, and report generation. AI automation (QuickBooks, Xero, Botkeeper successors, Fathom) handles a growing share of this layer.

Document review and preparation — Legal support roles focused on first-pass contract review, deposition prep, and matter organization. Purpose-built legal AI (CoCounsel, August, Clio Draft) is taking over significant portions of this work.

Administrative coordination — Scheduling, intake processing, status communications, and information routing. AI-assisted CRM tools, intake automation, and meeting notetakers (Fathom, Fireflies, Otter) handle increasing amounts of this layer.

The common thread: these are roles where the work is high-volume, rule-based, and evaluable by output quality. When you can check whether the work is right, AI can do the work.

The Decision Framework for Your Next Hire

If you're a small professional services firm owner considering an entry-level hire, the honest question is: what will this person actually do?

Map their expected task list. Be specific. For each task, ask:

Is this rule-based or judgment-based?
Can the output quality be evaluated without deep expertise?
Does it happen at sufficient volume to justify training a tool?

If more than 60-70% of the role is rule-based, measurable, and high-volume — AI can handle that portion. The question becomes whether the remaining 30-40% (client communication, judgment calls, irregular situations, relationship work) justifies a hire.

Sometimes the answer is yes: you need the human for the human-requiring portions, and the AI handles the rest, making the hire more productive than a traditional entry-level employee. Sometimes the answer is no: what you actually need is a better process, not a headcount.

The firms making the right call aren't avoiding all entry-level hiring. They're being precise about what they're actually hiring for.

What This Means for Staffing Firms

If your staffing firm places junior accounting associates, research coordinators, paralegal support, or administrative professionals at professional services firms — this data is a structural demand signal, not a market blip.

The 45% of mid-market firms substituting AI for entry-level hires are your clients. Or clients like your clients. And 74% of them plan to increase AI spending. The demand for the roles you place is compressing.

Three moves for staffing firms:

Move upmarket. Entry-level placement at professional services firms is the most exposed tier. Mid-level specialist placement — accounting managers, senior paralegals, consulting project leads, compliance-focused roles — has a longer runway because these roles require judgment AI can't yet replace. The near-term growth is in placing the people who will oversee AI-assisted work, not the people doing AI-replaceable work.

Add AI proficiency as a standard screening criterion. The ASA/LinkedIn data found that workers placed through staffing agencies are adding AI skills 46% faster than the general workforce. That's a pricing premium you may not be capturing. Candidates who can prompt, verify, and supervise AI outputs in their field are more valuable than equivalent candidates who can't. Test for this explicitly — and price for it.

Reposition around AI transition advisory. Your clients are figuring out which roles to eliminate, which to keep, and which to restructure. You have the hiring and workforce data to help them make that decision well. "Here's what firms like yours are doing with their staff during the AI transition" is a service your clients will pay for — and it starts with the RSM data you now have.

The Honest Picture

The 45% number is not a warning to panic. It's a calibration.

If you're a small professional services firm owner, it means your next hire decision deserves a harder look than it did three years ago. The math has changed. That's good for your margins if you're deliberate about it.

If you're a staffing firm, it means the entry-level professional services market is contracting, not temporarily pausing. The right response is not to wait for it to recover. It's to move now toward the placements that hold value longer.

In both cases, the data tells you something actionable. That's what it's for.

45% of Mid-Market Firms Are Using AI Instead of Hiring Entry-Level Staff — What That Means for Your Firm