0
AI has not yet caused net job losses or net job gains across the EU, according to a policy brief by economists at the European Commission's employment department (DG EMPL), released by the EU Publications Office on 8 October 2026. "So far, there is no evidence of net job creation or destruction from AI in the EU; the main effect observed is at task level," the authors write, adding that effects "may become more pronounced over the medium term as adoption spreads." The forward-looking number is borrowed from Cedefop's skills forecast: AI alone could reduce EU net job creation by about 300,000 by 2035, or about 1 million once broader automation is included, partly offset by about 900,000 new jobs in research and ICT. That is fewer new jobs, not a count of layoffs. On young workers the brief says "the jury is still out": employment has kept growing in the occupations that use AI most, and the hiring slowdown since 2022 in those occupations has hit young and prime-age workers alike, with macroeconomic caution, remote work and older trends as possible causes. It puts about 14% of EU employment at higher automation potential and 27% as likely to be reorganised, and warns that "exposure does not mean displacement." AI-adopting firms show labour productivity gains of around 4% over five years with no short-run fall in employment, citing a European Investment Bank study. The paper carries the usual disclaimer that it reflects the authors' views, not the Commission's official position. Set beside the job cuts companies themselves attribute to AI, it is a reminder that firm-level announcements have not yet shown up in Europe's aggregate employment data.