Job market: the reasons why AI does not yet eliminate jobs

The job market is at the heart of a profound transformation due to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI). For several years, this technology has sparked concerns and debates, notably about its potential impact on job disappearance. Yet, at the dawn of 2025, despite alarming rhetoric and predictions, the reality appears much more nuanced. Artificial intelligence has not triggered a massive wave of job cuts; on the contrary, some sectors are seeing moderate job growth, even in professions likely to be automated. This paradox invites a re-examination of the data and mechanisms at work in this professional renewal.

For the past two years, many employees have lived in uncertainty, driven by announcements of layoffs linked to automation and the digital transformation accelerated by AI. However, recent figures reverse this pessimistic trend. Econometric studies, notably those conducted by Vanguard, highlight tangible growth in occupations with high AI exposure, a phenomenon that contrasts with catastrophic scenarios. Contrary to the feared total replacement, artificial intelligence mainly performs partial replacement, a task adjustment often accompanied by skill adaptation.

In this changing context, the central question remains: why are jobs not disappearing significantly, even as automation progresses? This dossier delves deeply into the reasons for this resilience in the job market in the face of AI. It examines economic dynamics, wage evolutions, the specificity of irreplaceable human skills, and the adaptation strategies companies implement. Through these analyses, a clearer picture emerges, where artificial intelligence and humans coexist, reshaping the professional world rather than annihilating it.

The measured impact of artificial intelligence on the job market

At first glance, the sudden arrival of artificial intelligence suggested that the job market would face an unprecedented crisis. The fear of massive substitution of human workers by intelligent machines filled minds. However, a detailed analysis reveals that AI, far from causing a hemorrhage of jobs, influences the market in a more subtle way. Since mid-2023, professions considered sensitive to automation have experienced an average annual growth of 1.7%, a rate significantly higher than that before the health crisis, which hovered around 1%.

This trend covers approximately 140 professions such as legal assistants, administrative employees, and data scientists, all considered exposed to a high potential for automation. However, no net job decline has been observed, contrary to initial projections. This paradox is mainly explained by companies’ ability to reconfigure work positions instead of simply eliminating them. Certain tasks are entrusted to autonomous systems, while others are enhanced and require strengthening human skills. This phenomenon reflects co-evolution rather than unilateral replacement.

In detail, the very nature of the activities involved demands collaboration between AI and humans rather than total substitution. For example, data scientists use artificial intelligence to accelerate the analysis of massive data, but their role is evolving towards critical interpretation of results and strategic decision-making. Similarly, legal assistants automate the drafting of repetitive documents, freeing them for higher-value tasks requiring judgment and creativity.

Finally, the cautious adoption of AI by companies reflects persistent mistrust towards errors and “hallucinations” generated by intelligent models. This reservation slows comprehensive automation in sensitive areas and helps preserve a model of shared jobs. Thus, in the short term, the labor market seems to adapt more to artificial intelligence than to be replaced by it.

Digital transformation, a driver of professional evolution rather than job disappearance

Digital transformation, accelerated by AI, disrupts professional sectors without massively eliminating jobs. This change is accompanied by a qualitative evolution of professions, characterized by task reconfiguration and employee skill upgrades. Organizations adapt their strategies to leverage advanced technologies while seeking to maintain social balance.

Increasing digitalization fosters job creation in areas such as cybersecurity, data analysis, software development, and technical support. These professions appear as new hiring outlets, balancing out occasional job losses caused by automation. Moreover, the use of AI in administrative management or customer relations often results in a partial replacement of repetitive tasks, freeing employees to focus on strategic or creative assignments.

This phenomenon requires necessary skill adaptation. Thus, continuous learning capacity becomes an essential pillar to support professional development. Internal and external training multiply to help employees acquire skills complementary to automation, notably in digital tool management, data interpretation, and high-level interpersonal relations.

Several examples illustrate this transition process:

• In a financial services company, client agents are transforming into risk analysts assisted by AI systems capable of identifying complex patterns.
• A manufacturing production company implements collaborative robots working hand-in-hand with operators to improve quality and safety on the assembly line.
• In the legal sector, document research is now automated, allowing lawyers to focus on advice and strategy.

These initiatives demonstrate that artificial intelligence stimulates innovation and creativity at work, fostering a more dynamic and resilient job market.

Wage growth defying alarmist predictions linked to automation

An often overlooked indicator in the debate on AI’s impact is salary evolution. Recent data show a significant increase in pay for professions exposed to automation, calling into question the classic scenario of impoverishment due to technological pressure.

Before the pandemic, wage increases in AI-sensitive professions were almost non-existent, capping at less than 0.1% excluding inflation. Since the health crisis, they have surged to nearly 3.8%, far surpassing the growth of less-exposed jobs, which remain around 0.7%. This dynamic is a sign that companies value these hybrid skills more, combining human know-how and mastery of advanced technologies.

Here is a summary table of comparative salary evolution between professions exposed and not exposed to automation:

Type of professions	Salary growth before 2020 (%)	Salary growth post-2020 (%)
Professions exposed to AI	0.1	3.8
Professions less exposed to AI	0.5	0.7

These figures indicate that automation strengthens demand for certain profiles, especially those fully exploiting the capabilities offered by artificial intelligence. Employers therefore strive to attract and retain these talents by adjusting their compensation policies. This creates a beneficial ripple effect across the entire job market and helps stabilize careers.

This situation also raises competitiveness and attractiveness issues within companies, pushing them to invest in training and skills development to maintain their human capital in the long term.

Skills adaptation: the major challenge facing artificial intelligence

The heart of the matter is not so much the pure disappearance of jobs but rather workers’ ability to evolve with their times. Artificial intelligence requires skill renewal, often called “skills adaptation,” an indispensable condition to preserve employability in a shifting technological environment.

This phenomenon particularly affects the new generations entering the job market. Young graduates starting their careers fear seeing their first assignments automated, which affects their confidence and professional outlook. Yet, data collected from American retirement savings plans (401(k)) show that the presence of young people aged 21 to 25 in certain exposed sectors has remained stable. This suggests that, despite occasional adjustments, lasting integration is possible with proper support.

In response to these challenges, several action levers are identified:

• Continuous training: institutions and companies must strengthen training offerings to update technical skills and develop emotional intelligence.
• Mentoring and support: promote intergenerational exchanges to transfer expertise and facilitate digital tool mastery.
• Public policies: support professional integration programs and sectoral reconversion initiatives.
• Culture of innovation: encourage experimentation and agility in organizations so that change is experienced as a lever for progress.

This combined action plan ensures better career resilience in the face of growing artificial intelligence, without sacrificing the richness and diversity of the job market.

The current limits of AI: a brake on massive job replacement

Despite its impressive advances, artificial intelligence still suffers from technical limitations that curb its excessive adoption and the rapid elimination of human jobs. One of the major weaknesses of current systems lies in the phenomenon of “hallucination”: errors or data fabrications that make automated decisions risky in certain professional contexts, notably in health, legal, or finance sectors.

These flaws force companies to prefer gradual and cautious AI integration, favoring a hybrid model where human control remains paramount. This context also encourages the emergence of new jobs specializing in monitoring, validating, or correcting AI outputs.

Moreover, some economic sectors have less capacity to fully automate their processes due to complexity, unpredictability, or the human added value required. For example:

• Customer service, where human interactions remain crucial to solving sensitive problems.
• Data science, where fine understanding of data and strategic interpretation exceed simple automation.
• Legal assistance, where intuition and experience complement computer processing.

These specificities explain why AI profoundly modifies operational modes without completely abolishing the concerned positions. This durable coexistence also reorients training towards more creative, analytical, and relational skills.

Signs of a changing yet stable labor market

While enthusiasm for AI contributes to reshaping the professional landscape, indicators show that no “tsunami” of job disappearance has yet occurred. The study of recruitment, promotions, and departures rather illustrates a gradual adaptation.

Some sectors have observed targeted staff reductions, often after introducing automation tools. For example, a manufacturing firm reduced its administrative staff by 15%, an operation justified by resource optimization. However, these adjustments remain localized and do not reflect a generalized trend. At the same time, several companies have temporarily frozen hiring of beginners, fearing radical change, which slows youth dynamics but without massive disruption.

Internal policies also adopt hybrid models, alternating automation and team maintenance to support controlled transformation. Thus, the job market continues its mutation without abrupt rupture, offering an example of a managed transition between humans and machines.

Economic perspectives on the impact of AI in employment

Economically, artificial intelligence mainly acts as a lever to accelerate productivity. This efficiency increase does not mechanically translate into job reductions but into a transformation of task nature and a recomposition of required skills.

Experts emphasize that other macroeconomic factors explain the overall slowdown in employment growth more than AI itself. For example, the international context, geopolitical tensions, or ecological transition weigh on hiring decisions and productive investments.

The contemporary economic debate is more oriented towards human-machine complementarity than conflict. AI is seen as a tool allowing organizations to create new opportunities, innovate, and accelerate digital transformation. By adopting a participatory model, companies can mobilize creativity and collective intelligence to meet future challenges.

This realistic approach encourages overcoming initial fears to envision an economy where humans and machines cohabit harmoniously, leveraging each other’s strengths to shape a renewed professional future.

Keys to a stable professional future amidst technological evolution

To guarantee job sustainability in this context of rapid innovation, several axes are essential:

1. Encourage lifelong learning to enable employees to remain competitive amid technological changes.
2. Promote versatility and flexibility to adopt diversified and adaptable career paths.
3. Strengthen collaboration between humans and AI to valorize the complementarity of intelligences.
4. Develop social support policies ensuring the transition of threatened professions towards growing sectors.
5. Involve stakeholders in digital transformation to unite efforts and reduce resistance.

These combined levers foster a less volatile, more inclusive, and resilient job market. They also help mitigate potential negative economic impacts while maximizing benefits related to artificial intelligence and automation.

With this in mind, local authorities, companies, and workers will need to cooperate closely to build an efficient, sustainable, and human future of work, where digital transformation coexists with the irreplaceable potential of human talent.