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AI is not yet driving US job losses

Sep 7, 2026, 7:02pm EDT
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An office
Hannah Beier/Reuters

The latest US employment figures have failed to show an AI-driven surge in job losses, multiple analysts noted, suggesting theories of a “jobpocalypse” are premature, or misunderstood the effects of AI to begin with.

“It’s a good bet that AI will eventually make some occupations obsolete,” but so far it’s “extremely hard” to identify any, the economist Noah Smith wrote, suggesting that like previous technological revolutions AI could add as many or even more jobs than it destroys.

The Economist, meanwhile, touted an “AI jobs boom,” estimating the tech has created 1 million new US jobs. Despite a white-collar hiring lull that some attribute to AI, the job market for US workers without college degrees is white-hot, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Chart of US adults’ view on how AI will impact the American job market
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