AIimpacted

AI and jobs: the surveys, charted and sourced

Each survey below is charted by AIimpacted from its publisher's own figures, with a link to every release we used and one line on what it does and does not show.

Glassdoor Employee Confidence Index

Glassdoor Economic Research · latest release 28 Sep 2026

US employee confidence hit a record low in September 2026Share of employees with a positive six-month outlook for their employer, monthly. 13 points from 2025-09 to 2026-09. Starts at 47.7% in 2025-09, ends at 42.9% in 2026-09. Highest 47.7% in 2025-09, lowest 42.9% in 2026-09. Source: Glassdoor Employee Confidence Index, charted by aiimpacted.orgUS employee confidence hit a record low in September 2026Share of employees with a positive six-month outlook for their employer, monthly42.0%44.0%46.0%48.0%42.9%2025-092026-09Source: Glassdoor Employee Confidence Index, charted by aiimpacted.orgaiimpacted.org
Share of employees with a positive six-month outlook for their employer, monthly. Sentiment, not job losses. Latest revised values from Glassdoor's September 2026 data file.
Use this chart Download PNG ·

Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with the credit: Source: Glassdoor Employee Confidence Index, charted by aiimpacted.org, aiimpacted.org

How it is measured: Share of US full- and part-time employees rating their employer's six-month business outlook positive; tens of thousands of ratings a month, reweighted by industry. Monthly.

Note: Published by Glassdoor from its own platform's reviews; the underlying ratings are not independently audited.

Our reading: Sentiment, not job losses: it shows where workers expect trouble, often before employers announce anything. September 2026 was the lowest reading in the series, and mentions of AI in Glassdoor reviews were up 164% on a year earlier.

References (2)

Gallup: workers who fear technology will make their job obsolete

Gallup · latest release 15 Sep 2026

More than a quarter of US workers now fear technology will make their job obsoleteEmployed adults worried their job will become obsolete because of technology, Gallup surveys 2025 and 2026. All workers, 2025: 20%; All workers, 2026: 27%; Workers under 45: 34%; Workers 45 and older: 19%. Source: Gallup, 'More U.S. Workers Fear Losing Their Jobs to Technology', charted by aiimpacted.orgMore than a quarter of US workers now fear technology willmake their job obsoleteEmployed adults worried their job will become obsolete because of technology, Gallup surveys 2025 and 2026All workers, 202520%All workers, 202627%Workers under 4534%Workers 45 and older19%Source: Gallup, 'More U.S. Workers Fear Losing Their Jobs to Technology', charted by aiimpacted.orgaiimpacted.org
Employed adults worried their job will become obsolete because of technology, Gallup surveys 2025 and 2026. The question asks about technology, not AI specifically. 507 employed adults, 3-24 August 2026, margin of error about 6 points.
Use this chart Download PNG ·

Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with the credit: Source: Gallup, 'More U.S. Workers Fear Losing Their Jobs to Technology', charted by aiimpacted.org, aiimpacted.org

How it is measured: Telephone survey of US adults employed full or part time (507 in 2026, fielded 3-24 August 2026): are you worried your job will become obsolete because of technology? Asked annually since 2017.

Our reading: Worry is rising fastest among younger workers: 27% of all workers now fear their job will become obsolete, up from 20% a year earlier and 13% when first asked in 2017, and 34% of workers under 45. The question says technology, not AI, and a small sample means about 6 points of error either way.

References (2)

Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook: hiring plans

Business Roundtable · latest release 11 Sep 2026

Big-company CEOs' hiring plans rose through 2026Business Roundtable CEO hiring subindex, quarterly (above 50 = plans to add staff). 6 points from 2025-Q2 to 2026-Q3. Starts at 35 in 2025-Q2, ends at 58 in 2026-Q3. Highest 58 in 2026-Q3, lowest 35 in 2025-Q2. Source: Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Survey, charted by aiimpacted.orgBig-company CEOs' hiring plans rose through 2026Business Roundtable CEO hiring subindex, quarterly (above 50 = plans to add staff)30405060582025-Q22026-Q3Source: Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Survey, charted by aiimpacted.orgaiimpacted.org
Business Roundtable CEO hiring subindex, quarterly (above 50 = plans to add staff). A plan, not a headcount: the survey asks member CEOs about hiring over the next six months.
Use this chart Download PNG ·

Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with the credit: Source: Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Survey, charted by aiimpacted.org, aiimpacted.org

How it is measured: Quarterly survey of Business Roundtable member CEOs (174 responded in Q3 2026) on their plans for US hiring, capital spending and sales over the next six months. The hiring subindex runs from -50 to 150; above 50 signals growth.

Note: Business Roundtable is the lobby group of the CEOs it surveys.

Our reading: The counter-signal: the largest US companies' CEOs planned more hiring through 2026, rising from 35 to 58, even as AI-attributed cut announcements climbed. Plans are not headcount, and an average can hide cuts in one function and hiring in another.

References (6)

Challenger job-cut reports: cuts attributed to AI

Challenger, Gray & Christmas · latest release 2 Sep 2026

US employers cited AI for 116,175 job cuts in the first eight months of 2026Announced US job cuts where Artificial Intelligence was the stated reason, by month. Jan 2026: 7,624; Feb 2026: 4,680; Mar 2026: 15,341; Apr 2026: 21,490; May 2026: 38,579; Jun 2026: 14,029; Jul 2026: 10,970; Aug 2026: 3,462. Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas monthly job-cut reports, charted by aiimpacted.orgUS employers cited AI for 116,175 job cuts in the firsteight months of 2026Announced US job cuts where Artificial Intelligence was the stated reason, by monthJan 20267,624Feb 20264,680Mar 202615,341Apr 202621,490May 202638,579Jun 202614,029Jul 202610,970Aug 20263,462Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas monthly job-cut reports, charted by aiimpacted.orgaiimpacted.org
Announced US job cuts where Artificial Intelligence was the stated reason, by month. More than double the 54,836 AI-cited cuts Challenger counted in all of 2025. May 2026 (highlighted) was the highest month on record.
Use this chart Download PNG ·

Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with the credit: Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas monthly job-cut reports, charted by aiimpacted.org, aiimpacted.org

How it is measured: Monthly count of US job cuts announced by employers, grouped by the reason given; this series is the 'Artificial Intelligence' reason line. Counts announcements, not completed layoffs.

Our reading: The broadest public count of layoffs where AI was named, and it is climbing: 116,175 in January-August 2026 against 54,836 in all of 2025. It is wider than AIimpacted's ledger, which only counts cuts where the employer says AI now does the work.

References (9)