I write for owners and leaders of design, construction and service-based firms. My posts cover strategy, leadership, culture, and where AI actually fits. D4 Concepts is the firm I started with Mike Witt. Subscribe if you want them sent directly to you. A little over 2,000 people already do.
The AI jobs panic might be premature
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Everybody's convinced AI is coming for their job. The data tells a story that's not quite so clean cut. I've been listening to and digging into the latest research on AI and employment. And it's not quite as gloomy as the headlines promised us back in 2023 and 2024. Here's what's actually happening, and why it matters for how you plan your own team. Software jobs are growing, not shrinking.Look at some of the recent numbers coming out:
The number of roles isn't collapsing, but for sure, the role is changing fast. The "boomerang" trend is real.Robert Half found 29% of companies that cut jobs citing AI have already rehired for those same positions.
Net job creation still looks positive.The World Economic Forum projects 170 million new roles against 92 million displaced by 2030. That's not zero pain, especially for entry-level workers. I still think there are going to be short-term shifts and changes that negatively affect people in certain jobs. But it's a long way from the wholesale replacement story that dominated the headlines. My working theory is that AI will change how people do their jobs, but growth in new markets and capabilities will create new demand elsewhere. The data so far backs that up better than the panic does. And if we look back across other major technological developments in modern history (atuomobiles, computers, internet, mobile devices), we see this same pattern. New technologies create new markets we never could have imagined. So here's the question worth sitting with: If the fear of AI taking your job is overblown, what should be a real-life concern for your organization or team? Getting ready for what's next, Micah Ray P.S. This is the first in a short series on AI and the future of work. If you're seeing something different in your own organization, hit reply and tell me. I'll share your real-life examples into what's coming next. Sources: Software Engineering Job Market 2026: Data, Trends and Outlook State of the software engineering job market in 2026 Employers who laid off workers citing AI are already starting to regret it Companies Are Rehiring Workers They Cut for AI Study: AI Is Actually Creating More Jobs, Not Killing Them |
Micah Ray
I write for owners and leaders of design, construction and service-based firms. My posts cover strategy, leadership, culture, and where AI actually fits. D4 Concepts is the firm I started with Mike Witt. Subscribe if you want them sent directly to you. A little over 2,000 people already do.
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