Industries adopting artificial intelligence at higher rates are experiencing weaker employment growth and higher unemployment, according to Goldman Sachs research released Monday.
Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius identified statistically significant relationships between AI adoption and worsening labor-market conditions across U.S. nonmanufacturing industries in a report titled “Global Views: Downside Growth Risks.” The findings suggest the economic benefits of the AI boom may increasingly be accompanied by disruptions to American employment, although the correlations do not establish that AI directly caused the job losses (RELATED: Barclays CEO Calls AI ‘Icing On The Cake’ As 5,000 Jobs Get Axed)
“We are starting to see clearer signs that the AI impact is spreading beyond the technology sector,” Hatzius wrote in the report.
Global Views Downside Growth Risks
The analysis found that industries with a greater share of businesses using AI in regular operations tended to experience slower employment growth and higher unemployment compared with industries where adoption remained lower.
Goldman’s statistical model showed that a ten-percentage-point increase in industry-level AI adoption was associated with approximately 0.9 percentage points weaker employment growth. A corresponding analysis found a 0.9-percentage-point higher unemployment measure, calculated relative to the industry’s average unemployment rate from 2015 through 2019.
The relationships were statistically significant, according to the report’s analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.
The findings extended into industries including financial services, insurance, telecommunications, real estate and professional services, raising questions about how automation could reshape employment in sectors previously considered less exposed to technological displacement.
Goldman’s latest findings suggest a broader pattern than the bank described in September, when its economists found that AI-related hiring headwinds remained concentrated in a relatively narrow group of industries and workers.
That earlier analysis warned that junior employees could face particularly significant hiring challenges as businesses increasingly use AI to perform tasks traditionally assigned to entry-level workers.
The expansion of AI into everyday business operations is already evident in federal data. The Census Bureau reported in May that approximately 20% of American businesses were using AI, with adoption reaching nearly 40% in the information sector and roughly 34% among finance and insurance companies.
Goldman Sachs estimated earlier in 2026 that AI had reduced monthly U.S. payroll growth by approximately 16,000 jobs over the preceding year while increasing the unemployment rate by roughly 0.1 percentage point.
The bank has nevertheless maintained that AI could create employment opportunities in sectors where the technology complements human workers rather than replacing them.
Hatzius’ latest analysis also warned that the broader economic boost from massive AI infrastructure investments is approaching its peak.
The Goldman economist expects the growth contribution from AI investment to peak in late 2026 or early 2027 as spending on the technology continues rising but at a slower pace relative to the overall economy. The report also estimated that gains in AI-related stocks helped support U.S. consumer spending growth by approximately 0.4 percentage points over the past year, an effect Goldman expects to diminish.
Despite the emerging employment concerns, Goldman Sachs continues to forecast that AI investment will eventually generate higher productivity and economywide corporate profits.
The report cautioned, however, that the labor-market disruption accompanying those gains could produce negative economic effects in the near term, presenting a growing challenge for American workers as businesses accelerate their adoption of the technology.