Quick answer
May 2026 AI employment data: Customer service jobs down 25-40% (chat AI). Translators down 30% (AI translation). Junior copywriters down 20% (AI drafting). BUT — Software engineering up 5% (AI coding tools created more demand, not less). Product management up 15%. AI-specific roles up 200%. Net global tech employment: slightly up, not down. The "AI replaces jobs" panic of 2023-2024 was more nuanced than feared.
Predictions in 2023 said AI would eliminate 30% of jobs by 2026. Reality is more nuanced. Some roles dropped sharply; others grew. Net employment is roughly flat. Here is the actual data.
Roles that shrank
- Customer service representatives — down 25-40% globally
- Translators (general purpose) — down 30%
- Junior copywriters and content marketers — down 15-20%
- Data entry clerks — down 35%
- Basic graphic designers — down 15%
- Junior paralegals — down 10-15%
Roles that grew
- AI engineers — up 200%+
- AI product managers — up 150%+
- AI safety/alignment researchers — up 300%
- Software engineers — up 5% (despite predictions of decline)
- AI literacy / training roles in HR — new category, growing fast
- Senior creative directors — up 10% (AI raised demand for taste)
Roles that stayed the same
Most physical work (trades, healthcare, hospitality, construction). Senior knowledge work that requires judgment. Sales roles requiring relationship building. Teaching at primary and secondary levels. Management roles. Anything requiring physical presence or emotional intelligence.
The pattern: AI eats the bottom rungs of professional ladders. Entry-level work in knowledge professions is the most disrupted. Senior work that involves judgment, relationships, or taste is mostly untouched.
What this means for you
If you are early-career in a knowledge profession: skill up fast or change paths. If you are mid-career: AI literacy + your existing skills = strong position. If you are senior: AI multiplies your output, you become more valuable. Physical and emotional-labour jobs are largely safe from AI for now.
Related reading
Bottom line
AI is reshaping work but not destroying it. Specific entry-level roles are gone; AI-specific roles boomed. Net employment is roughly flat. The transition is brutal for those caught in the wrong roles — and an opportunity for those in adjacent ones.