All articles tagged with #employment
Economists, AI specialists, and superforecasters increasingly model AI progress as disruptive, predicting a modest dip in labor-force participation toward about 60% by 2030 under rapid AI progress, but with no consensus on a doomsday scenario and acknowledging that policy and adaptation will shape how work changes.
A Gallup poll of ages 14–29 finds Gen Z’s daily AI use has plateaued, with rising anxiety and fading hope about AI’s benefits. While curiosity remains, concerns about mental health, the job market, and other risks accompany a skepticism toward productivity gains from AI, and most Gen Z respondents prefer human-made work. The trend suggests this tech-native generation could shape AI adoption in the workforce and potentially influence hiring, even as major firms invest heavily in AI; experts say firms must address broader social impacts beyond just productivity boosts.
New research using official labour statistics corroborates private payroll data, showing about half a million fewer coders today than pre-LLM-era trends. The 'bundles of tasks' framework explains why junior and contractor coding jobs are more exposed to AI displacement, while senior developers and domain experts resist as AI automates lower-value tasks and multiplies the rest, implying a widening divide in white-collar work as AI capabilities grow.
A Washington Post report drawing on American University research finds that some widely pursued graduate degrees—especially in social work and psychology—may yield zero to negative financial returns, while degrees in medicine, law and pharmacy tend to offer higher financial payoff; the study calls for better information on program costs and benefits and notes outcomes can vary by gender and undergraduate background.
Kristin Cabot, Astronomer’s former chief people officer, says the viral kiss-cam moment with the CEO derailed her career, leaving her unable to find a job eight months after resigning and fueling a public debate on misogyny and online harassment.
Tech firms have blamed large-scale job cuts on AI, but evidence shows automation’s impact is real yet uneven and not a blanket trend; most tasks remain human-led, with AI influencing only certain occupations and sectors. layoffs are also driven by factors like post-pandemic over-hiring, investor pressure for higher margins, and strategic funding of AI initiatives. Analyses from Goldman Sachs, Anthropic, and PwC suggest AI will reshape roles and productivity, potentially flattening the traditional corporate hierarchy rather than causing mass displacement.
First-time unemployment claims held at 213,000 in the latest week, marking a third straight week with little change and suggesting a sluggish but generally stable labor market. Continuing claims fell to 1.85 million, and economists had expected a rise to 215,000, easing concerns prompted by February’s payroll weakness.
The U.S. labor market lost 92,000 jobs in February, pushing the unemployment rate up to 4.4% and signaling renewed vulnerability after a month when health-care hiring weakened the economy’s momentum.
ADP’s February National Employment Report shows private-sector payrolls rose by 63,000, with year-over-year pay for job-stayers up 4.5% and pay for job-changers at 6.3%; hiring was strongest in construction and education/health services, with small establishments driving most gains (about 60,000). Pay gains for staying workers remained steady while the pay premium for switching jobs hit a record low, and January’s job total was revised downward (22,000 to 11,000).
Block laid off about 4,000 of its 10,000 employees (roughly 40%), saying the cuts are driven by gains from artificial intelligence that boost efficiency and reduce the need for certain roles.
Block Inc. will cut about 4,000 jobs—nearly half its workforce—while leaning into AI tools, a move CEO Jack Dorsey says reflects how intelligence tools transform building and running a company. The announcement sent Block shares up over 25% after hours; the company reported about $6.3 billion in Q4 revenue and a $234 million hit from bitcoin investments, illustrating the broader AI-driven shift and the crypto-risk backdrop.
A Citrini Research scenario warns that AI-driven productivity gains could displace white-collar workers, pushing some into blue-collar roles and stressing the broader labor market, though economists criticize the scenario as extreme and potentially exaggerated.
Despite fears AI will destroy white-collar jobs, Anthropic is actively hiring—over 100 software engineers and hundreds of other roles across finance, marketing, legal, and sales—arguing that AI changes how work is done rather than eliminating it, a view echoed by industry leaders like Jensen Huang.
AI-powered translation tools are accelerating the industry in the European Union, with publishers like Harlequin France testing AI-assisted services from Fluent Planet, sparking backlash from translators but promoting faster, cheaper translations. Experts say AI will likely change language work rather than replace it, with high-stakes tasks still requiring human input, and while the profession faces job-quality shifts and tighter competition for entry-level roles, EU data show overall translation employment continuing to grow. The trend signals a significant shift in the field rather than a collapse.
Health care and social assistance accounted for 95% of the 130,000 jobs added in January, continuing a 2025-driven trend of health-care hiring that buoyed the broader labor market, with hospitals, clinics and nursing homes expanding payrolls while other sectors slowed.