AI had essentially no employment effect in 2025.
But CFOs now expect a 0.4% headcount reduction in 2026 — concentrated almost entirely in clerical, administrative, and customer service roles. They were twice as likely to say AI would eliminate those jobs as enhance them.
🪜 The roles most at risk? Economist Salomé Baselice flags these are the "stepping stone" positions — the first rungs on the career ladder for workers without degrees. These aren't just any jobs. They're the ones that give people a route in.
Chuck and Jenni break down what this means for IC teams, why the CFO framing of the problem bothers them, and whether 0.4% is actually as small a number as it sounds.
(It isn't.)
📰 Full article:
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-admin-job-market-6a1c3436