Artificial intelligence is beginning to leave a measurable mark on the U.S. labor market, according to new government employment data analyzed by Bloomberg and reported by PYMNTS. The strongest signs are emerging in the financial services and information technology sectors—two industries that have adopted AI most aggressively. Payrolls in these sectors have declined by an average of 28,000 jobs per month in 2026, even as the broader U.S. labor market has continued to add more than 113,000 jobs per month through May.
The article notes that AI is not triggering economy-wide unemployment but is reshaping employment patterns in knowledge-intensive industries. Banks and technology companies are increasingly using generative AI to automate tasks such as software development, customer support, document processing, coding assistance, and administrative work. As a result, many organizations are slowing hiring, restructuring teams, and eliminating certain white-collar positions while continuing to invest heavily in AI infrastructure and talent.
At the same time, economists caution against interpreting these figures as evidence of a broad AI-driven jobs crisis. Other recent studies have found that companies making the largest investments in AI are often expanding their workforces, particularly by hiring AI engineers, infrastructure specialists, and implementation teams. This suggests that AI's employment effects vary significantly by industry, occupation, and the scale of AI investment, with some roles being displaced while new ones are created.
The article concludes that AI's influence on employment is becoming visible but remains uneven. Rather than causing widespread unemployment across the economy, AI is accelerating workforce transformation in sectors where routine knowledge work is most susceptible to automation. The long-term impact will depend on how quickly workers acquire new skills, how businesses redesign jobs around AI, and whether productivity gains generate enough new opportunities to offset displaced roles.
