Labor and Industry Trends
Lots of cross currents in the labor markets
So, it's not AI's fault?
U.S. companies cited cost controls, restructuring, economic conditions and AI when eliminating jobs in 2025, according to a report from consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
We invite clients to work with Kforce experts for support during uncertain times. Kforce draws on our 60+ years of experience navigating changing market conditions to help you understand the true impacts of AI on your business and prepare for future growth.
by Michael Blackman
Learn More About Kforce
As Chief Corporate Development Officer at Kforce, Michael Blackman, a 33 year Kforce veteran, is the primary focal point for the firm with the Wall Street and financial communities. He is regularly sought out by leading economists for his perspectives on the economy and labor markets, and he contributes to a number of key proprietary economic publications.
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Published November 20, 2025
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Michael Blackman
CHIEF CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
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Labor and Industry Trends
for May 2023
Brad Boyd
PRACTICE LEADER
Meet the Authors
As Chief Corporate Development Officer at Kforce, Michael Blackman, a 30-year Kforce veteran, is the primary focal point for the firm with the Wall Street and financial communities. He is regularly sought out by leading economists for his perspectives on the economy and labor markets, and he contributes to a number of key proprietary economic publications.
Michael Blackman
Despite widespread headlines about companies in the U.S. and Europe cutting staff and citing artificial intelligence for the shakeup, reality is more complex. Many firms, especially those that expanded rapidly during the Covid-19 pandemic, are now downsizing—not solely due to AI, but to correct over hiring and to recalibrate for market changes. Critics argue that businesses are using AI as a convenient scapegoat for difficult decisions like layoffs, masking the true drivers such as market clearance and business strategy shifts. As tech giants and airlines announce large-scale staff reductions, AI is often cited as the culprit, leaving employees anxious about the future.
The Budget Lab, a non-partisan policy research center at Yale University, published a recent report indicating that U.S. labor has experienced limited impact from AI automation since ChatGPT's release in 2022. The study compared the labor market since ChatGPT's introduction with previous periods of technological change, including the PC emergence in the 1980s, the internet expansion in the 1990s and 2000s, and using the post-2008-Recession years as a control period. The results show no significant shifts in the labor market. Current trends are consistent with historical patterns. Disruption tends to occur gradually over many years or even decades, rather than rapidly within months or a year.
6%
5.5%
5%
4.5%
4%
3.5%
3%
2023
2022
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Unemployment Rate
Jan 2021 Through DEC 2023
JAN '24
a recent report
Lots of cross currents in the labor markets
Despite widespread headlines about companies in the U.S. and Europe cutting staff and citing artificial intelligence for the shakeup, reality is more complex. Many firms, especially those that expanded rapidly during the Covid-19 pandemic, are now downsizing—not solely due to AI, but to correct over hiring and to recalibrate for market changes.
Critics argue that businesses are using AI as a convenient scapegoat for difficult decisions like layoffs, masking the true drivers such as market clearance and business strategy shifts. As tech giants and airlines announce large-scale staff reductions, AI is often cited as the culprit, leaving employees anxious about the future.
The Budget Lab, a non-partisan policy research center at Yale University, published a recent report indicating that U.S. labor has experienced limited impact from AI automation since ChatGPT's release in 2022. The study compared the labor market since ChatGPT's introduction with previous periods of technological change, including the PC emergence in the 1980s, the internet expansion in the 1990s and 2000s, and using the post-2008-Recession years as a control period. The results show no significant shifts in the labor market. Current trends are consistent with historical patterns. Disruption tends to occur gradually over many years or even decades, rather than rapidly within months or a year.
a report