Most job growth for the past several years has been in the private education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and construction sectors. Removing these sectors makes job growth negative for 2024 and 2025, and wipes out the majority of job growth in 2026. See https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/economy/spotl... . These sectors are harder to automate with AI compared to white collar office jobs, which have seen major losses.

These could be jobs that are just not as exposed to AI augmentation/automation?

I'm pretty strongly opinionated on AI eventually taking any job that derives value by using a computer, but its pretty obvious its strongest PMF right now is in the software industry. Headcount across high-tech companies are certainly flat/down. This is only a small portion of the overall job market though.

> everyone wants to talk about the rate speculation, rather than about the finding that jobs are picking up in spite of AI.

The Economist had an article early September "The jobs apocalypse is postponed. An AI jobs boom is here" - https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/09/04/t...

> rather than about the finding that jobs are picking up in spite of AI.

We are years too early to determine if AI is removing jobs. AI still hasnt really decided what it wants to be yet. Were just in LLM land with bolt ons currently. Once we get hyperfocused models based on industry specific tasks that can run locally then we start to see the jobs fall.

there are sooo many jobs AI cannot yet automate--things like service sector work, blue collar jobs, or individualized services. Many white-collar jobs involve coordination and dealing with edge cades. Things like insurance or advertising require having to meet clients' unique needs or have to deal with counterparties, like with law. An insurance company does not pay out--you are not going to resolve this with AI.