Do AI job losses show up in hiring first? Copywriters fell from 1 in 6 agency jobs to 1 in 30

Writing roles have decoupled from the agency job market they used to track. In the 12 months to July 2026 all agency postings rose 24% while postings for writing roles rose only 10%, according to analysis by research firm Agency by Agency using data from The Data City and Lightcast. The share tells it more sharply: writing roles were 17% of all agency postings in one six-month period and 6% in the next, falling to 3% in July, the lowest point of the entire post-2022 period. 'The agency job market is recovering; writing roles are not participating in the recovery,' said Agency by Agency's Tom Salmon. A separate poll by The Drum and iResearch Services found global marketing leaders ranked copywriters the role most likely to shrink in scope by 2030, at 42%, double the next role on the list, with only 25% expecting growth, the lowest confidence of any job. No employer here says AI took these jobs. The postings simply stopped appearing.