Investing.com — Artificial intelligence is more likely to replace individual tasks than entire occupations, limiting the risk of widespread job destruction, BofA Global Research said in a report examining employment across 206 US industries.
Industries with the highest exposure to AI have recorded broadly flat employment since ChatGPT was released in late 2022. Employment in the least-exposed industries has risen by about 2% over the same period.
Yet the analysts found almost no correlation between an industry’s AI exposure and its employment growth. This suggests factors such as aggressive hiring in the years following 2019 may explain some of the weakness in highly exposed sectors.
Aggregate hours worked also showed little connection with AI exposure, indicating companies have not broadly reduced employees’ working hours in response to the technology.
The findings were much the same for labor demand, measured using employment and job openings. AI usage rates had no clear relationship with changes in demand between January and June 2026.
Information and finance and insurance were possible exceptions. Both sectors reported relatively high AI adoption alongside declining demand for workers, suggesting some companies may be using the technology to contain labor costs.
Entry-level employment presents a less encouraging picture. Unemployment among workers and recent college graduates aged 22 to 27 has risen from its 2023 lows and remains above 2019 averages.
BofA said AI may be contributing to weaker employment outcomes for younger workers, though trade-policy uncertainty also played a role.
At the same time, spending on AI infrastructure is creating jobs elsewhere. Non-residential construction added 95,000 jobs during 2026 through the report’s publication date, and AI-related manufacturing industries created another 32,000.
Together, the two sectors accounted for roughly one-quarter of new private-sector jobs during the period. BofA expects such gains, along with the creation of new tasks and roles, to offset some initial displacement from AI adoption.
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