New research from Ramp and Revelio Labs, analyzing workforce data from nearly 22,000 companies, found that firms making sustained, high-intensity AI investments actually grew headcount by 10.2% while expanding across engineering, sales, customer service, finance, and marketing roles. Conversely, companies that only purchased AI subscriptions and ran pilots without deeper commitments saw no headcount gains. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs research found that AI has erased roughly 16,000 net jobs per month over the past year, with entry-level workers and Gen Z disproportionately affected—though hiring data from tech-forward firms shows entry-level positions rose 12%.
The AI jobs debate has intensified as the technology matures from hype to implementation. Projections suggest up to 15% of U.S. jobs could be eliminated by AI within five years, yet simultaneous job creation at committed adopters suggests the impact will be uneven across sectors and skill levels. The information sector showed the strongest job growth among high-intensity AI adopters, reflecting where the technology is being deployed most aggressively.
Companies investing seriously in AI are expanding headcount and creating roles in high-skilled areas like engineering and data science, suggesting AI will generate new jobs faster than it destroys them if the transition is managed well.
Net job erasure of 16,000 positions per month, combined with 90,000 announced cuts, shows AI is displacing workers faster than new opportunities emerge, with entry-level and younger workers absorbing the heaviest losses.
Think of AI like a tool that some companies use to build more stuff (and hire more people to manage it), while others just buy it off the shelf and expect it to do all the work alone (and end up cutting staff). The big question is whether the new jobs companies create will outnumber the ones AI eliminates.
Companies that embed AI deeply into operations, train staff, and reinvest savings into new roles continue growing. Engineering and specialized positions expand, while routine work gets automated.
scenario - not a predictionFirms that experiment with AI subscriptions without strategic adoption see little hiring growth and may eventually lay off roles the AI can handle, without creating new ones.
scenario - not a predictionInformation and tech sectors thrive under AI, while administrative, customer service, and routine finance roles contract elsewhere—forcing workers to retrain or change industries.
scenario - not a prediction