The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that employers added 29,000 jobs in September, below the 45,000 average monthly increase over the previous 12 months. Unemployment was 4.2%. Since March, the rate has stayed within a 0.2-percentage-point range, between 4.1% and 4.3%.
The headline employment figures describe overall conditions, but they cannot isolate how much artificial intelligence (AI) affected hiring or job losses in individual occupations. A pattern among one age group or set of jobs does not by itself establish broad displacement across the U.S. labor market.
Anthropic’s analysis of occupations with varying exposure to AI found no systematic rise in unemployment among workers in the most exposed occupations since late 2022. It also reported tentative evidence that hiring into those occupations was slower for people ages 22 to 25. The signal concerns entry into exposed roles and does not establish higher unemployment among younger workers overall.
PwC’s company comparison found headcount at the most AI-exposed firms was 52% above its 2018 baseline in 2025, compared with 36% growth among the least exposed firms. Its sample excluded companies that left the market during the period and does not represent employment across the whole economy. The comparison cannot show whether AI explains the growth difference or whether employment fell elsewhere.
