14 hrs ago
AI Hiring Freezes Hit White-Collar Jobs Across Developed Economies
A Goldman Sachs report examined how artificial intelligence is affecting jobs.
It found that the biggest effects so far are among office workers and technology-related businesses.
These include call centers, software publishing, consulting, and advertising.
Hiring in information and communication services has slowed in many developed countries since 2022.
The United States has seen especially noticeable weakness in technology hiring.
Call-center jobs are below their earlier expected levels in the United States, Canada, and Germany.
However, the report says AI has not yet caused large job losses across the whole economy.
This means AI may be changing where companies hire before it replaces workers everywhere.
The effects are currently more visible in specialized service industries than in blue-collar work.
Goldman Sachs Research says AI’s labor-market effects are concentrated mainly among white-collar, creative, and technology-service workers.
Employment in information and communication services has slowed across nearly all major developed markets since 2022.
United States technology-sector employment has fallen below long-term trends, with the strongest negative effects reported there.
Call-center employment is 39% below trend in the United States, 33% below trend in Canada, and 27% below trend in Germany.
The report says economy-wide job displacement remains low despite corporate adoption of generative AI tools.
- Who
- Goldman Sachs Research economists Sarah Dong and Joseph Briggs analyzed the labor-market effects of artificial intelligence.
- What
- The report found that AI-related hiring slowdowns are concentrated in technology, call centers, and other knowledge-based professional services.
- Where
- The effects are reported across major developed economies, particularly the United States, Canada, and Germany.
- When
- Employment slowdowns in exposed sectors have occurred since 2022.
- Why
- Corporate adoption of generative AI tools has contributed to hiring pullbacks in specialized service industries.
Evidence of Concentrated AI Impact
Evidence of Limited Economy-Wide Displacement
Effect on employment
Evidence of Concentrated AI Impact
Hiring has slowed in AI-exposed industries, including technology, information and communication services, call centers, software publishing, consulting, and advertising.
Evidence of Limited Economy-Wide Displacement
Goldman Sachs says overall displacement across the economy remains low, so the evidence does not show sweeping automation of all types of work.
Geographic reach
Evidence of Concentrated AI Impact
The slowdown appears across nearly all major developed markets, with particularly strong effects in the United States.
Evidence of Limited Economy-Wide Displacement
The report describes outright negative effects as most compelling in the United States rather than equally severe across every market.
Type of work affected
Evidence of Concentrated AI Impact
The effects are falling primarily on white-collar and knowledge-based workers rather than being evenly distributed across the workforce.
Evidence of Limited Economy-Wide Displacement
The report does not identify sweeping automation of blue-collar jobs, indicating that many occupations have not yet experienced comparable disruption.
Key facts
- Report
- “Is AI Impacting Global Labor Markets?”
- Researcher
- Goldman Sachs Research
- Most affected workers
- White-collar knowledge workers, creative workers, and technology-service workers
- U.S. call-center employment
- 39% below trend
- Canada call-center employment
- 33% below trend
- Germany call-center employment
- 27% below trend
- Trend timing
- Employment slowdowns in exposed sectors have occurred since 2022
Quotes
Goldman Sachs Research
The investment bank's research division and author of the cited labor-market report.
“There is evidence that employment in information and communication services, two of the industries that are the most exposed to AI, has slowed because of AI”
republicworld.com
“Call center employment, for instance, now stands 39% below trend in the US, 33% below trend in Canada, and 27% below trend in Germany”
republicworld.com
Sarah Dong and Joseph Briggs
Goldman Sachs Research economists who wrote the report.
“These patterns suggest tech sector (broadly defined) hiring headwinds are global in nature, although outright negative impacts are most compelling in the US”
republicworld.com
Sources
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