AI Jobs: The Plot Thickens

Concerns about job displacement due to artificial intelligence intensify with each new round of corporate layoffs. By May 2026, approximately 90,000 job reductions were attributed to AI, and some analyses project that up to 15% of U.S. jobs could be eliminated by AI within the next five years. Despite assurances from the technology sector about AI's potential to create new roles, these promises offer little comfort, particularly for a generation apprehensive about future employment opportunities upon graduation.

However, a recent report issued by Ramp, which tracks enterprise AI spending, and Revelio Labs, which monitors workforce data from nearly 22,000 companies, introduces a more complex perspective to this prevailing pessimistic outlook.

The report's findings indicate that companies making substantial investments in AI are experiencing faster headcount growth, even in entry-level positions often perceived as most vulnerable. Specifically, "high-intensity adopters"—defined as firms spending an average of $30 per employee per month on AI during their initial three months—recorded an impressive 10.2% increase in their workforce.

This expansion was observed across a wide range of functions, including engineering, sales, administration, customer service, finance, marketing, and scientific roles. The information sector, encompassing software, internet, media, and tech-adjacent businesses, showed the most significant job growth among these high-intensity AI adopters.

Despite these encouraging signs, the data is not without its nuances. It exhibits a strong bias towards tech-forward, knowledge-work firms—companies that frequently benefit from venture capital funding and are already on a rapid growth trajectory. This inherent skew makes it challenging to definitively ascertain whether AI is the direct cause of the hiring surge or merely present within companies that are expanding irrespective of AI adoption.

The report's authors candidly acknowledge this limitation, stating, “This paper does not show that AI universally creates jobs, but it does counter claims that AI will lead to broad job losses.”

Furthermore, the research challenges the notion that AI is exclusively eliminating junior-level positions. While recent analysis from Goldman Sachs suggested that AI has resulted in a net loss of approximately 16,000 jobs per month over the past year, disproportionately affecting Gen Z and entry-level workers, this new report finds that entry-level headcount actually increased by 12% within tech-forward firms.

The key takeaway from these findings suggests that AI may not solely function as a tool for labor substitution but can also serve as a powerful catalyst for overall firm expansion.

As the report elaborates, “For software and technology firms, AI can make core output cheaper or faster to produce: writing code, debugging, building internal tools, producing technical documentation, and supporting product development.” It further notes, “Lower production costs in these workflows can raise the return to expanding the whole firm, not just the engineering team.”

Conversely, companies that merely engage in AI subscriptions and pilot programs without committing to sustained, deeper investments do not typically experience similar gains in their workforce, according to the report.

This divergence highlights the potential for a widening chasm between firms possessing the necessary resources—such as capital, skilled technical staff, robust founder networks, and sufficient management capacity—to effectively translate AI adoption into tangible business advantages, and those that remain in an experimental phase with basic subscriptions. In essence, the report indicates that companies already endowed with significant resources are best positioned to realize the most substantial benefits from AI.

The paper’s authors speculate that such a divide is likely to persist and grow, cautioning that “Firms without those channels may fall behind.”