- Tech graduates and workers continue to suffer AI-induced layoffs, report says
- New unemployment tracker lays the groundwork for future labor laws
- Despite layoffs, new job opportunities continue to exist elsewhere
A report from the New California Policy Lab has revealed that artificial intelligence could actually be driving a spate of layoffs despite recent promises that the technology is creating new roles.
But the data suggests that certain roles are more susceptible than others. Those with a bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD in roles highly exposed to AI experienced higher unemployment rates after the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
Unemployment insurance claims among bachelor’s degree holders increased more than 50% between November 2023 (13,000 claims per month) and July 2023 (22,000 claims per month). Since then, applications have decreased, but remain above previous levels, currently standing at around 16,000 applications per month.
AI continues to cause some job losses
And California is leading the way in AI-induced layoffs, with the Bay Area’s high concentration of tech companies making it a likely place for labor market effects to emerge first.
But the report is largely optimistic about AI’s impacts on roles: While certain roles are clearly at risk of being displaced, others still promise opportunities for human workers.
“AI does not appear to have affected national unemployment rates… but it has affected the workforce in certain occupations with greater exposure to AI,” the document concludes.
Although region-specific, the report marks the introduction of the California AI-Unemployment Tracker (CAIT) that uses near real-time data, which it says is important to guide employment laws and support as the impacts of AI on the labor market continue to evolve.
Ultimately, the paper concludes that higher-level workers are being hit first, particularly in California’s tech sector, but the overall impact on the labor market could be more displacement rather than replacement.
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