The Economist has estimated AI has created five jobs for every one job lost. Their study claims AI has caused 200,000 job cuts since mid-2023 while creating one million new jobs.
It’s Not All Doom and Gloom: AI Added 1 Million US Jobs, 5 for Every 1 Cut– www.westernjournal.com
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EXCERPT:
A wave of doomsday warnings about artificial intelligence (AI) is overshadowing a short-term bright spot: the technology appears to be creating American jobs even as it eliminates others.
U.S. employers cited AI in 116,175 announced job cuts through August, roughly 22% of all cuts announced in 2026, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Yet amid mounting warnings about AI’s threat to workers and even humanity, The Economist estimated in September that AI has created roughly 1 million American jobs compared with roughly 200,000 AI-attributed layoffs since mid-2023 — a ratio of about five jobs created for every one lost.
The figures are not directly comparable. Challenger tracked announced layoffs in which AI was cited as a reason, while The Economist estimated job creation using employment trends, AI-specific occupations and infrastructure hiring. Challenger has recorded roughly 188,000 announced cuts attributed to AI since it began tracking AI separately in 2023.
The broader labor market has so far avoided mass displacement. Employers added 162,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Sept. 4.
AI-related job creation is also extending beyond the workers constructing the data centers needed to power the technology.