Tens of Thousands of White-Collar Jobs Are Disappearing as AI Starts to Bite

Tens of Thousands of White-Collar Jobs Are Disappearing as AI Starts to Bite

 

A leaner new normal for employment in the U.S. is emerging. Large employers are retrenching, making deep cuts to white-collar positions and leaving fewer opportunities for experienced and new workers who had counted on well-paying office work to support families and fund retirements. Nearly two million people in the U.S. have been without a job for 27 weeks or more, according to recent federal data.

Behind the wave of white-collar layoffs, in part, is the embrace by companies of artificial intelligence, which executives hope can handle more of the work that well-compensated white-collar workers have been doing. Investors have pushed the C-suite to work more efficiently with fewer employees. Factors driving slower hiring include political uncertainty and higher costs.

Altogether, these factors are remaking what office work looks like in the U.S., leaving the managers that remain with more workers to supervise and less time to meet with them, while saddling the employees fortunate enough to have jobs with heavier workloads.

The cascade of restructurings has created a precarious feeling for managers and staff alike. It is also tightening the options for those who are looking for employment. Around 20% of Americans surveyed by WSJ-NORC this year said they were very or extremely confident that they could find a good job if they wanted to, lower than in past years.

Meanwhile, opportunities for front-line, blue-collar or specialized workers are growing.

Blue Collar Workers are the LEAST hard hit.