LinkedIn says hiring slowdown not driven by AI
16 Apr 2026

LinkedIn's Chief Global Affairs and Legal Officer, Blake Lawit, has confirmed a 20% decline in hiring since 2022.

However, he denied the notion that artificial intelligence (AI) is responsible for this trend.

Instead, Lawit pointed to economic factors such as rising interest rates as more likely contributors to the slowdown in hiring activity.

Lawit discusses AI's impact on jobs
Labor market analysis

Lawit emphasized the power of LinkedIn's "economic graph," a tool that provides a real-time view of the labor market.

The graph, made up of over a billion members and their associated companies, jobs, and skills, has not shown any major impact from AI on jobs so far.

He said, "We have not seen the sort of impacts that you would expect to see in areas that everyone is talking about AI..."

Hiring slowdown not disproportionately affecting early-career recruitment
Job market shifts

While Lawit acknowledged a general slowdown in the hiring process, he clarified that it isn't disproportionately affecting sectors often linked with AI disruption.

He said, "Yes, hiring's down, but not down more."

This is especially true for early-career recruitment which hasn't seen a steeper decline than mid- or late-career hiring.

AI reshaping job requirements, not eliminating jobs
Skill evolution

Despite not having a direct impact on hiring yet, AI is reshaping job requirements.

Lawit said that the skills needed for an average job have changed by 25% in recent years.

This figure is expected to rise to 70% by 2030, indicating a gradual but significant transformation of work rather than an immediate wave of job losses.

Goldman Sachs report on AI adoption in businesses
Adoption rates

Goldman Sachs's latest AI Adoption Tracker shows that less than 19% of US establishments have adopted AI into their operations.

The technology has resulted in an average productivity boost of 23%, with some companies even seeing gains of up to 33%.

However, despite these improvements, there are no major changes in hiring patterns or business outcomes yet.