The Economist: AI Has Not Yet Triggered Mass Job Losses in the US

The Economist says there is not yet evidence that AI has made large numbers of people unemployable, although it may eventually do so. The US economy added 162,000 jobs in August, while unemployment was 4.1%, according to the cited Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The labor market is showing disruption in some areas: hiring in professional and business services is about 10% below its 2015–2019 average, while Microsoft and Meta are reducing headcount as they reorganize around AI. Block and Intuit are reportedly replacing some workers with bots, and US companies have announced an average of about 16,000 AI-related cuts per month this year.

The Economist estimates that AI has created roughly 1 million US jobs since mid-2023, compared with about 200,000 AI-attributed layoffs. AI startups are hiring, established companies are creating new AI roles, and investment in data centers and power generation is increasing demand for construction and infrastructure workers. The estimate does not mean every new job can be directly attributed to AI, and weaker hiring in back-office roles may continue.